After falsely claiming to be pregnant, the whole court came to claim it

The tea stand is diagonally opposite the sugar seller's stand, across a street.

If it was daytime, Liu Linxi might still be able to see the situation on the opposite side, but even though the street was full of lanterns, the light was still too dim, so Liu Linxi could only vaguely see the outline of the person sitting opposite.

But since the other party has this dragon talisman, it is likely to be the person in the cave.

"My lord, what's the matter with you?" The boss of the sugar seller saw Liu Linxi standing there motionless, and asked.

Liu Linxi smiled, and said, "Make two or one new ones for me, and I'll get the money for you."

The boss quickly responded, and Liu Linxi took the remaining sugar figurines to the corridor bridge, and handed the sugar figurines to Shifang.

"Su Heng, give me a few pennies." Liu Linxi said.

"Old slave, go and pay for the general." Su Heng said hastily.

"No need, I'll go by myself." Liu Linxi took the copper plate from Su Heng's hand, then raised his head and said to the attendants beside him, "You guys, keep an eye on the ten directions and be careful."

Everyone is busy.

Liu Linxi reached out and pinched Shifang's cheeks, then returned to the sugar seller's stall with the copper plate, handed the coin to the stall owner, and said, "I'll go across the street and pick up the remaining sugar figures when I come back. I put it away."

"Okay, son, you just go." The stall owner said.

Liu Linxi smiled at him, got up and walked quickly to the opposite tea stand.

After crossing the street, they got closer, and Liu Linxi could roughly see what the tea stand looked like.

The booth is not big, except for a couple of young people who are resting after shopping, there is only one customer.

The man sat in the shadow of the tea stand, with his back to the street, his face invisible.Liu Linxi knew it was him at a glance, so she asked the boss for a pot of tea, went straight to the man's table and sat down.It was the first time Liu Linxi saw his face today, and I have to say that although this man has a beard and looks a bit dark, his facial features are still very handsome.

"I didn't expect you to actually dare to come." The man opened his mouth and Liu Linxi recognized that he was the man in the cave.

"You dare to look for me, why wouldn't I dare to come?" Liu Linxi said.

The man turned his head and saw that Liu Linxi was wearing the mask on his face, so he couldn't see the expression.However, Liu Linxi's tone was very relaxed, unguarded and nervous, as if what he came to meet was not the villain who almost kidnapped him that day, but an ordinary old friend.

"Are you not afraid that I will kill you?" The man put his hand on the table.

Liu Linxi glanced at him, saw the outline of Xiujian hidden in his sleeves, and couldn't help frowning.

"Let me take a guess. You should have been following me in the dark since I left the palace today, right? You may have thought about plotting against me halfway, or you may be jealous that the people who follow me dare not take action easily, but at this point After a while, you should change your mind." Liu Linxi said.

"Why?" the man asked.

"Because of the ten directions." Liu Linxi said.

The man's expression froze, and Liu Linxi knew that he had guessed right.

In fact, when Liu Linxi was taking back the dragon talisman just now, he hesitated for a while. Of course he wanted to meet this person for a while, but it wasn't that he didn't care about this person's intentions.But at the moment when he gave the sugar man to Shifang, he suddenly realized that this man would not do anything to him.

Now that Shifang is in his hands, although Liu Linxi never had any intention of using Shifang from the beginning to the end, that person knew the news by accident, but if he had a certain degree of care about Shifang in his heart, he would not choose At this time, he shot Liu Linxi.

More importantly, Liu Linxi felt that even if he fought with the other party, he might not suffer a disadvantage.That person was seriously injured before, and he should not be fully recovered at this moment, and his combat effectiveness will definitely be worse than last time.What's more, Liu Linxi was already on guard, as long as he resisted a move, the hidden guard would appear, and there was no room for that person to escape.

After thinking about this level, Liu Linxi decided to come to see him.

"He got an arrow in his chest that day, and you were able to revive him, so you treated him well," the man said.

"That's not necessarily true." Liu Linxi denied, he didn't want this person to use Shifang as a bargaining chip to negotiate with him.

"At least you won't kill him, will you?" the man asked.

"If I don't go back after half a stick of incense, my guards will come over and ask, so you'd better hurry up if you want to say something." Liu Linxi said: "If you just want to talk about Shifang's affairs, then I can do it now gone."

After Liu Linxi finished speaking, he was about to get up, but the man suddenly said, "I want to exchange something with you."

"What chips do you have to exchange with me?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Half a month." The man said.

"What half a month?" Liu Linxi asked.

"You have to promise me first before I can tell you." The man said, "I swear by ten directions, you will not regret the deal I made."

"Swear by ten directions? Are you worthy?" Liu Linxi asked.

The man was not annoyed when he heard the words, and said: "The half stick of incense is about to pass, General Liu has to make a decision, otherwise, if your guards come to grab someone, I will immediately take poison and kill myself, and die with this bargaining chip in your arms." Before. But I promise, you will regret it in the future."

"What do you want to change?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Another person won't die," the man said.

Such an astonishment was made in order to save one person from death, so one can imagine who this person is.But Liu Linxi didn't intend to agree readily, firstly, he didn't know who that person was and what he committed, and secondly, he didn't trust this person, so it was impossible to easily agree to this person's conditions.

Liu Linxi opened the mouth and said: "What did that person do and what crime did he commit, the law of his own feast will punish him. I am not from the Ministry of Punishment, so I can't control the life and death of others. You think too highly of me, beg me I can't guarantee his life."

"If it's a crime, he can die a hundred times for the crime he committed, but what I exchanged with you is worth your life." The man said.

"Just spare his life, nothing else?" Liu Linxi asked.

Is it okay to torture, imprison, and never see the light of day?

The man nodded and said: "Yes, even if he is imprisoned, as long as he is kept alive..."

As soon as he said this, Liu Linxi was quite surprised, and couldn't help but feel a little curious.

He won't suffer from this business, and Liu Linxi is not a gentleman, so he may not be able to do it, so he agreed after a little hesitation.

"Tell me." Liu Linxi said: "I can give it a try, but the premise is that your bargaining chip makes me think it's worth it."

The man finally breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the words, and said, "On the second day of February, the Northwest War will resume."

"What?" Liu Linxi's complexion changed, and he said sharply, "The war in the northwest is over, how can it be fought again?"

"Believe it or not, you will find out when you wait until February [-]nd." The man said

"Who the hell are you? How do you know about the Northwest?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Hehe..." The man smiled wryly, and said, "In half a month, it will probably be difficult for you to reverse anything, but it's better than being unprepared. This chip is for him to live... Do you think it's worth it? "

From the capital to the northwest, it will take nearly ten days to travel day and night at a fast pace.

If you really want to make some arrangements, it's not like there's no chance...

Liu Linxi was so upset that he stretched out his hand and pulled the man's skirt, and said in a deep voice, "Speak, where did you get this news?"

The hidden guards noticed something strange, and immediately surrounded him, and the small tea stand was full of people in an instant.But Liu Linxi didn't speak, so they just guarded with their knives to prevent the man from hurting Liu Linxi.

"The day Shi Fang was born was the winter solstice... It snowed a lot... He almost lost half his life when Shi Fang was born, so I don't like this child since Shi Fang was born." Paying attention to Liu Linxi, he said to himself: "The name he gave to Shifang is Mo'er, and I never want to be called..."

Liu Linxi said, "Tell me, who are you?"

"Zhou... Hui..." After saying that, the man spat out a mouthful of black blood and died on the spot.

Liu Linxi was stunned, and when he loosened his grip, the man fell to the ground.The dark guard stepped forward to check it out, and said to Liu Linxi, "General, he died of poison."

"Take the corpse back." Liu Linxi waved his hands in shock and said, "Be careful, don't disturb the people."

Everyone hurriedly heard the words, and two people carried Zhou Hui's body and took a shortcut, while the rest of the hidden guards vigilantly checked the surroundings to ensure that Zhou Hui had no accomplices.

Liu Linxi managed to regain her composure, and walked towards the covered bridge.

When passing by the sugar figurine stand, the boss handed him another sugar figurine.

Liu Linxi stood there holding the sugar figurine, looking at Shifang from afar, hesitating for a moment whether to let Shifang see Zhou Hui for the last time.But he quickly dismissed this idea. Now that Shifang has no original memory, and both parents have such complicated backgrounds, it is of no benefit to let Shifang know these things.

Besides, as a five-year-old child, he couldn't understand such a complicated incident at all.

I only hope that when Shi Fang grows up in the future, he will not know his own life experience...

Su Heng had already seen what had happened just now, and his face was very nervous. He was relieved to see that Liu Linxi was fine.

Shifang had already eaten one candy figurine, and he was looking at Liu Linxi nervously at this moment.

"General, what went wrong?" Su Heng asked.

"It's okay, let's go back to the palace immediately." Liu Linxi said.

Liu Linxi glanced at the nervous Shifang, stuffed another sugar figurine into his hand, and walked towards the palace with Shifang in his arms.Along the way, he kept thinking about Zhou Hui's words, and the phrase "On the second day of February, the Northwest War will resume" repeated in his mind.

At the gate of the palace, Liu Linxi finally calmed down a little.

When the cool night breeze blew, Shifang curled his neck and nestled on Liu Linxi's shoulder, with a pair of small arms tightly hugging Liu Linxi's neck.

Liu Linxi paused, and said to the attendant, "Go to General Yu's old house, wait there for him to return to the mansion, and then tell him that I have something to do with him, and let him come to the palace overnight to see me."

Hearing the words, the attendant left in a hurry.

"Su Heng, say hello to the person guarding the palace gate. If General Yu comes, let him in and let him go to the imperial study." Liu Linxi said.

"Yes, the old slave will do it now." Su Heng said.

"Wait." Liu Linxi said: "Shifang, Daddy has some things to do, so you go back to sleep with Eunuch Su first?"

"Well, good." Shifang let go of Liu Linxi when he heard the words, Su Heng quickly took him over and hugged him in his arms, and then left in a hurry.

After entering the palace, Liu Linxi went straight to the imperial study, but did not find Li Yan.

Li Yan was called away by Lu Yuzheng before, so he must have something to discuss, where would he be if he wasn't in the Imperial Study Room?

"Where is Commander Lu?" Li Yan asked the guards guarding the night.

"Commander Lu has been at Dali Temple today," said the man.

People in the imperial army didn't dare to inquire about Li Yan's whereabouts, but most of them knew where Lu Yuzheng was.

When Liu Linxi heard the words, he suddenly realized that Lu Yuzheng had been checking the identity of Shifang's mother today, and he had suddenly called Li Yan away before, so there must be some clues, so they were naturally in Dali Temple instead of returning to the palace.

According to the laws and regulations, on the Lantern Festival today, Dali Temple should also take a rest, but Li Yan was anxious to find out the details of the man, so Lu Yuzheng stepped up to handle the case, and left without even having time to reward the lantern.

The people in Dali Temple naturally didn't dare to be lazy, and those who could stay were there to help Lu Yuzheng, so they found out the details of that person after dinner.His name was Dong Gui, 27 years old, from the Northwest, he came to the capital ten years ago for scientific research, later he became famous and worked as a errand in the yamen of the capital until he was arrested in an accident not long ago.

"Still not willing to say?" Li Yan asked.

"Yes, I have been tortured, and I didn't say a word." Lu Yuzheng said.

With a cold expression on Li Yan's face, he said, "It's okay, let's rest for a while."

Lu Yuzheng winked at his entourage, and the entourage took his orders and left.

"It's strange to say, since he has a child as old as Shifang, and he is looking for a job in the capital's yamen, how can no one know who else is in his family?" Li Yan sneered: "Could it be that he never talks to others?" contact?"

"Dong Gui is low-key and modest, he is very inconspicuous in the yamen of the capital, and he has no close colleagues." Lu Yuzheng said: "On weekdays, he and the people in the yamen are no more than nodding acquaintances, and it is true that no one cares about his family's situation. .”

Coincidentally, it was precisely because he could not find any background that he stood out among the many prisoners.

If he was like others, and his wife and children were all on the record, Lu Yuzheng really didn't suspect him so quickly.

At this time, someone came to report that General Liu asked to see him.

Li Yan was startled when he heard the words, and hurriedly greeted him out the door.

"Why do you look so bad?" Li Yan asked.

"To make a long story short, did you find him?" Liu Linxi asked.

"Yes." Li Yan said: "It is the person who was detained by Lu Yuzheng because of the epidemic not long ago, because he suppressed the report and refused to report. His name is Dong Gui."

"Epidemic?" Liu Linxi frowned when he heard the words, a thought flashed through his mind, but it was not very clear.

He had no choice but to let go of that thought first, and said: "The man in the cave died that day, and he came to me to make a deal with me before he died. Although I don't trust him, this matter is of great importance. delay."

"Is that person dead?" Li Yan asked.

"He came to me personally, and begged me to save Shifang's mother's life, and he took poison to death after speaking," Liu Linxi said.

Li Yan's shock was no small matter, he never imagined that the person Dong Gui had refused to reveal would come to his door by himself and died of poison.Fortunately, Liu Linxi is safe and sound, if that person wants to do anything wrong to Liu Linxi... Thinking about it makes Li Yan afraid.

"His name is Zhou Hui, he should be Shifang's father." Liu Linxi said.

"What deal did he make with you?" Li Yan asked.

Liu Linxi took a deep breath and said, "He said that on February [-], the Northwest War will resume."

"What?" Li Yan said, "Northwest...Dong Gui is from Northwest."

Liu Linxi frowned when she heard the words, feeling that many things seemed to be gradually revealed.

"I saw Zhou Hui today. I saw him with a beard, dark skin, and a tall figure... I was wondering if it's possible that he wasn't a big banquet man?" Liu Linxi said, "It's Da Zhou who is fighting us in the northwest, Zhou Hui... ...Da Zhou...could he be from Da Zhou?"

"Da Zhou has never heard of Zhou's surname, but his name is likely to be fake." Li Yan said: "I was still a little puzzled before. I thought Dong Gui was a big banqueter, why did he press the report of the epidemic?" Doing something that would harm my feast? But if, as you said, Zhou Hui is from the Great Zhou, then this matter makes sense."

"You mean, Zhou Hui plotted against Dong Gui and worked for Da Zhou?" Liu Linxi asked.

"If it wasn't for being bewitched by others, Dong Gui, a subject of the banquet, would have absolutely no reason to do this." Li Yan said.

Liu Linxi thought about it, and felt that this logic seemed to make sense.Throughout the ages, no matter in stories or novels or movies, it is not uncommon for foreign/foreign/spies/spies to use their feelings to instigate mutual rebellion for the country's benefit.If, as Li Yan guessed, it was Zhou Hui who bewitched Dong Gui and seized the notebooks about the epidemic without permission, then Da Zhou was the mastermind behind this matter.

"But... Dazhou is fighting with us in the northwest, and the capital is thousands of miles away from the northwest. Even if it is to use some indiscriminate means, it is too roundabout, right?" Liu Linxi said: "The epidemic in the capital is considered dead. No matter how many, it will be difficult to spread to the northwest."

Li Yan frowned, and didn't quite understand it for a moment.

"Where's Dong Gui? You didn't get anything out?" Liu Linxi asked.

"The mouth is very hard, I am afraid that the punishment will be too severe and kill the person." Li Yan said.

Liu Linxi took a breath and said, "Let me try."

"There's too much blood in the punishment room..." Li Yan said, "I'll let Lu Yuzheng bring him out."

"It's okay, don't waste time, it's too late." Liu Linxi said.

Li Yan didn't insist on hearing the words, and accompanied Liu Linxi to the execution room.

As soon as Liu Linxi stepped in, he could smell the pungent smell of blood. The torture room in Dali Temple was similar to what he saw on TV, but the instruments of torture and the bloodstains on the tortured people were real, so the atmosphere seemed similar. Some panicked.

"Dong Gui." Liu Linxi walked up to Dong Gui, his eyes swept around him.

I saw Dong Gui's fair and handsome face, which was stained with a lot of blood at the moment, covering up his original temperament and giving him a bit more cold and hard temperament.The white prison uniform on his body was almost soaked in blood at this moment, and only sporadic places could still see the original color.

"Shifang's original name was Dong Mo?" Liu Linxi asked.

A trace of panic suddenly appeared on Dong Gui's face, which was originally looking at death like home.

"Who are you?" Dong Gui looked at Liu Linxi warily and asked.

"Dong Mo, or Zhou Mo?" Liu Linxi asked.

Dong Gui's complexion changed when he heard the words, the original calm and restraint was gone, replaced by almost crazy despair.He struggled forward, but his body was tied by the chain, so he only pulled the chain and jingled, but his body still couldn't move.

"What happened to him?" Dong Gui looked at Liu Linxi with red eyes and asked.

"Want to know?" Liu Linxi said: "It depends on your sincerity, tell me... how did you and Zhou Hui know each other, and how did you divide the work and plan things? After you think it over, if what you said is half of what Zhou Hui said I can't match..."

Liu Linxi didn't say anything later, but Dong Gui's weakness was obviously taken advantage of, and everything he held on to was instantly destroyed by that name.

Only after seeing his reaction did Liu Linxi realize that what Zhou Hui said before he died was not just casually, but to give Dong Gui a way to survive...

Thinking about Zhouhui's name and Shifang's name, there are not many people in this world who know it, and Zhou Hui will not reveal it to others unless he is in a desperate situation.So as soon as Dong Gui heard Liu Linxi's words, he immediately knew that Zhou Hui had fallen into Liu Linxi's hands.

He didn't care about his own life before, and he refused to say a word, just to keep Zhou Hui safe.

Now that Zhou Hui has been arrested, he has no reason to persevere...

After all, he is not from Da Zhou, and everything he does is not for Da Zhou, but for Zhou Hui.

"We met in Northwest China 12 years ago." Dong Gui said, "At that time, he was 20 years old, and he came from Dazhou to do business... I was still studying at that time. gave me money..."

Liu Linxi raised her eyebrows, she didn't expect Dong Gui and Zhou Hui to start like this.

At that time, Dayan and Dazhou were still very peaceful, and there would be businessmen on both sides to do business, but unfortunately things are changing now...

"Two years later, I came to the capital to take the exam, and later I got a good name, so I stayed in the capital's yamen as a servant." Dong Guidao: "After two or three years later, I met him again in the capital, and I didn't know that he had been looking for me..."

It's not hard to imagine what happened later. The two old friends who were far away from their homeland depended on each other for life in the capital. After a long time, they developed feelings for each other.After a few years, Dong Gui became pregnant and gave birth to Shifang.

"The year Mo'er was born, there was a conflict between Dayan and Dazhou. Zhou Hui was afraid that people would know that he was from Dazhou, so he didn't show his face very much, so he bought a house in the suburbs of Beijing." Dong Gui said: "Until Last year, the Northwest won successive victories, and the Great Zhou was defeated..."

At that time, Dong Gui knew for the first time the purpose of Zhou's return to the capital.

God knows how many inner battles Dong Gui went through after learning of Zhou Hui's purpose.

But he chose Zhou Hui in the end and betrayed the banquet.

"The Gu worms in the water were planted by me." Dong Gui said, "It was also my idea to suppress the Gu worms."

"What's the purpose?" Liu Linxi said: "Isn't it just to make a few more people die in the capital?"

Dong Gui smiled wryly and said: "The original plan was not like this. Your reaction was too fast, and the epidemic was quickly contained. But I didn't expect that there would be a big banquet... His Majesty sent General Liu to investigate the household In order to make up for the shortage of the Warehousing Department, those old moths in the Account Department had a guilty conscience and withheld the grain and grass that should have been shipped to the northwest last month."

Liu Linxi:! ! !

The hole in the warehouse department was actually filled with military rations shipped to the northwest? ?

In the past, military rations in the northwest were transported nearby, but since there was a drought in the northwest two years ago, the late emperor reduced taxes in the northwest and changed the rules.

In the past two years, every three months in the capital, a batch of grain and grass was transported to the northwest. Liu Linxi had been in the Northwest Army for so long, so he knew how important grain and grass were.Now he roughly calculated that this batch of grain and grass had been detained for more than half a month. If they had delayed for a while before, and now they delay again... the consequences would be disastrous.

If there is a war in the Northwest after half a month, they have no food and grass, how should they fight?