The loyal minister was forced to marry the traitor

The Xiaoyang manor knows that he is in charge of river engineering and water conservancy, and at the same time needs to care for the people of Sui. When he received the news from Bai Yan, he was having a good conversation with the envoy of a certain distinguished guest.

"Bai Yan?" Zeng Xuangang made tea for the honored guest, and paused slightly when he got up.

The reporter nodded, "Yongzhou Prefecture is in great chaos. The magistrate Fang Yue and the bandits from Yunzhai robbed the disaster money. Now the magistrate's prefecture city has been occupied, and Bai Yan is alone and helpless."

Zeng Xuan listened with a calm expression, "Is that so..."

Before he could say anything else, the distinguished guest said, "If my guess is correct, this Bai Yan is the adopted son of the former Marquis of Pingjin? But he is called the adopted son, and it seems that even the genealogy of the Xiao family has not been listed..."

"Your Excellency's words are very true." Zeng Xuan nodded, "He is quite talented, and his temperament is far beyond ordinary people. However, he has been sitting on the Yushitai for five years, and even the eunuch Huai Chun treats him differently. It is indeed some means. .”

The distinguished guest nodded, "That's right, I'm here this time, and I'm still somewhat involved with this person. Mr. Zeng also knows that my master never fights or grabs, but I can't be lazy as a slave. I'm going to do my best, this time I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Mr. Zeng once."

A trace of hesitation flashed in Zeng Xuan's eyes, but he finally returned to calm. He sat up straight and bowed, and made a long salute, "Since the saddle and the horse."

The two talked for a while, until the person was sent out, the candle flames were already dim, and the quietness of the mansion could only faintly hear the wonderful sound of konghou.

"My lord is in the mansion today?" Zeng Xuan recruited someone to ask.

"My lord, the young master has been here all day. He came to look for you in the afternoon, but he left again when he saw the distinguished guest."

Zeng Xuan's face changed slightly, "Your Excellency, why was no one notifying you when you come here?"

The man immediately knelt down, "My lord, forgive me. It was the young master who didn't let the servant report it. When he left, he only asked the servant to tell you a word."

"What?"

"My lord said, you can do whatever you want, my lord, the only thing is, don't bother him again in the future."

"Song Que..." Zeng Xuan clenched his fists.

Song Que, the magistrate of Xiaoyang Prefecture, was only twenty-one years old. Although he was talented, he had a complicated background. Thanks to the emperor's pity, he made an exception for his son to inherit his father's position and take over the post of magistrate of Xiaoyang Prefecture.

Speaking of it, let alone Daliang, this was something that had never happened in the previous dynasty.

But this Song Que was content with having fun, abandoned everything, and pushed all the big and small things in Xiaoyang Mansion to his fellow confidant Zeng Xuan.

Zeng Xuan was twenty-six and came from a poor family, if he hadn't been supported by the former prefect of Xiaoyang Prefecture, he might not be able to get ahead in this life.

Seeing that Song Que was drinking and having fun every day, ignoring his daily affairs, Zeng Xuan tried his best to prop up the Xiaoyang Mansion. In the eyes of outsiders, he had nothing to criticize except his humble background.

But few people know that Zeng Xuan and Song Que are not superficially officials and subordinates.

"My lord, where are you going?" The man was still kneeling when he saw Zeng Xuan going to the main courtyard.The slave had the intention to stop him, but was pushed away by Zeng Xuan. Everyone dared not do anything to Zeng Xuan. It didn't take long for him to enter the main courtyard smoothly.

It was already dark, and there were only a few stars twinkling in the sky, but the courtyard was brightly lit. There were more than a dozen singers and maidservants, all of whom carried lutes and harps in their arms. ... It's just that amidst the fragrance in the courtyard, there is only a man in black clothes with his eyes closed leaning against the stone table, seemingly sleeping but not sleeping.

Zeng Xuan seemed to be deaf to everything, he was wearing a green shirt, and knelt down in the courtyard, "My lord, please punish me."

When he said this, the man who was half leaning on the stone table didn't move.Wonderful sounds lingered in the courtyard, beauties danced gradually, and the clear shadows under the moonlight were alluring, Zeng Xuan glanced at the girls and said, "Go down."

All the women stopped.

The man in black moved his shoulders, opened his eyes, and looked straight at Zeng Xuan who was kneeling on the ground, "If you drive people away, who will dance?"

Zeng Xuan's face changed slightly.

The man continued, "Although I entrusted you with everything, I never said that I would not take it back. Zeng Xuan, these powers can't feed you anymore, can they?"

Zeng Xuan finally said, "My lord, that person has already set his sights on the Song Mansion, whether he should or should not, is nothing but two results."

"So you chose to be someone's dog?" The man stood up and walked to Zeng Xuan.

"Sir, I..."

"Go down."

Zeng Xuan was about to get up, but the man looked aside, "They are going down."

All the girls hugged their instruments and left immediately after hearing the words.

After they left, the courtyard suddenly fell silent, Zeng Xuan was still kneeling on the ground with his back straight.

"Zeng Xuan." The man suddenly reached out and pulled him up, dragged him to the stone table, grabbed his chin and kissed him.

"Hmm..." The bloody smell spread from his lips, Zeng Xuan was about to stand still, and subconsciously clenched the man's skirt, but this small movement elicited a bigger reaction from the man, he grabbed Zeng Xuan's waist, fingers Clenched like an iron buckle, Zeng Xuan almost cried out in pain.

A kiss like a bite is like torture.

Finally, Zeng Xuan stopped struggling, and the redness at the end of his eyes seemed to have knocked over a rouge box, smudged so that his temples were also flushed red.

"Zeng Xuan, is it that good to be a master?" The man roughly wiped the corners of Zeng Xuan's eyes, but it turned red and swollen.

"My lord, do you want to take back what you gave me?" Zeng Xuan asked the man instead of answering.

His lower back was leaning against the edge of the stone table, his skin was probably broken, and his brows were wrinkled in pain, but the man felt that Zeng Xuan hated what he did, and the faces of the two of them were extremely cold, it seemed that they had just been intimate thing.

The man pinched Zeng Xuan's cheek, rubbed his fingertips against his bleeding lips, and couldn't help but kissed again, "It's time to take it back, or even I will die by your hands someday. "

"Song Que." After a long silence, Zeng Xuan suddenly called out the other party's name.

"Say." The man is none other than Song Que, the magistrate of Xiaoyang Prefecture.

"I'll accompany you one more time, and you let me finish this." His eyes were dark, and his cheeks were bruised and purple when Song Que pinched him, which showed how angry the other party was.

But there are some things, once you start, you can never go back.

Moreover, Zeng Xuan didn't want to turn back.

"Okay." Song Que's eyes were serious, "Since you ask so, I will allow you, but Zeng Xuan, remember, today you are on my bed with Song Que for power, if you dare to deal with others like this in the future, you Everything I own, I will destroy everything for you!"

Zeng Xuan lowered his eyes and remained silent, neither saying good nor bad.

Song Que was so angry that Xitianmudi invaded and looted people clean.

There was frost in the middle of the night, fireflies were flying, and under the luxuriant crabapple tree, the two overlapped each other, only soft chants flowed...

----

"Master Zeng, all the dead and alive inside have been brought out, and they are all here." The Fang Mansion was ablaze, and soldiers from the Xiaoyang Mansion went in wave after wave. Except for the bandits who were dead or alive, only the innocent were brought out. Fangfu's servant.

"Have you ever found that Mr. Bo?" Zeng Xuan was damp since that night of absurdity, sitting high on the horse, his body was very tired, and it was already the end of his strength to persist in rushing to Yongzhou Mansion overnight.

Before the people beside him could speak, they heard the neighing of the fierce horse behind them.

Zeng Xuan turned his head, and galloped towards the light alone.

"Who ordered the use of Fuhuolei?!" Xiao Jiuqin was full of anger, his eyes swept across the faces of the people, and finally looked behind them.

The huge open space was full of corpses, Xiao Ban was so charred that he couldn't tell who he was, Xiao Jiuqin was slightly relieved that Bai Yan was not here.

"Xiaguan Xiaoyang Manor Counselor Zeng Xuan, pay homage to Lord Hou." Zeng Xuan almost fell when he got off his horse, but he stopped abruptly.

Xiao Jiuqin was not very interested in who he was, so he asked again, "Who told you to use Fuhuolei?"

"It's the lower officials who decide." Zeng Xuan was neither humble nor overbearing.

Fu Huo Lei was originally a thing for alchemy, Taoism often used it, if it wasn't for an explosion in the past that shook the sky and the earth, it is still edible today.Daliang has built firearms since the founding of the country, but the local state capitals kept very few, and they were mostly used to drive away barbarians, but now Zeng Xuan used them to blow up Fangfu.

Xiao Jiuqin had no choice but to think about it, but he looked around, left a last sentence and hurried into Fang's mansion.

Fang Mansion was on fire, and Xiao Jiuqin's words were still in Zeng Xuan's ears, "If Bai Yan is damaged at all, I will raze Xiaoyang Mansion."

"My lord, now..." Someone beside me asked cautiously.

Zeng Xuan stood up, dusted off the hem of his clothes, "Throw the corpses in the mass grave, and keep the living ones in custody for now."

"Then Fang Yue also took advantage of the chaos and ran away. Are you going to block the city?"

"Feng." Zeng Xuan glanced at Fang's mansion, "Search inch by inch, if you want to see the dead or the dead, if you don't find Fang Yue, you can come and see him later."

"Yes!"

As soon as Xiao Jiuqin stepped into Fangfu, he was faced with black smoke and hot fire. He wet his sleeves and covered his mouth and nose, and started looking for each house.

Just now he had asked his subordinates to search around Fangfu, but he entered Fangfu alone.

For some reason, Bai Yan never proposed to leave when he stayed in Fangfu, Xiao Jiuqin thought about this repeatedly, and always felt that something was wrong.

"Bai Yan!" The fire was getting bigger and bigger, Xiao Jiuqin almost searched around the Fang residence, but there was no sign of Bai Yan.He refused to give up and shouted several times, but there was still no response.

Originally, I wanted to go back and search again, but suddenly I heard something.

When Xiao Jiuqin turned around, he saw Bai Yan smiling at him with a dirty face.

He was stunned, and rubbed his eyes belatedly, always feeling as if his eyes were smoked by black smoke, and hallucinations appeared in a trance for a while.

But there was still that person in front of him, Bai Yan called out to him, "Xiao Jiuqin, aren't you afraid of death?"

Xiao Jiuqin nodded and shook his head again, "I'm afraid of death, I'm so afraid of death, if I'm not afraid that someone will go down to see King Hades first, I wouldn't want to come in and look for him."

It's a habit to be stubborn, Xiao Jiuqin's eyes are darkened, and Bai Yan's cheeks are sour. If the timing is not right, he wants to kick Xiao Jiuqin in the past.

After a short tease, Bai Yan still went to the main courtyard, where the fire was not big, but the thick smoke billowed straight into the sky.

"What are you looking for?" Xiao Jiuqin grabbed Bai Yan, "Don't tell me you have already escaped, and finally came back to take risks."

Bai Yan was amazed at Xiao Jiuqin's keenness, but he still broke Xiao Jiuqin's hand from holding him, "There is someone behind the flood in Yongzhou Prefecture, Fang Yue is just a bait to attract attention, and he just went out to threaten him. Tell me, there is a secret letter in the study."

"What if he lied to you?" Xiao Jiuqin followed Bai Yan.

Bai Yan rolled up his outer shirt, dipped it in the water tank, put it on again, "Whether it's a lie or not, I want to go and see."

"What does the flood in Yongzhou Mansion have anything to do with you? From the very beginning, you have tried your best to get here?!" Xiao Jiuqin couldn't understand. Bai Yan in his eyes was soft-hearted, but he was by no means someone who couldn't figure it out. The people who have arrived have arrived. Although the process was tragic, the result was within their expectations.

Bai Yan didn't seem to be relieved at all, Xiao Jiuqin felt more and more that he was hiding something.

"I can't explain clearly at the moment, I'm just guessing, I'll tell you in detail when I go out today." After Bai Yan finished speaking, the two had already walked to the main courtyard.

Probably there is a small private warehouse here, and the bandits who passed by Yunzhai guessed that there were treasures in it, so they didn’t set fire to it at first, until the soldiers and horses from Xiaoyang Mansion arrived, they only had time to light the things in the courtyard in a panic, and the study was completely damaged It's not serious, but it's a mess in there.

If Bai Yan had come later, the burning here would have been almost complete.

"You tell me what I'm looking for, I'll look for it, you wait here for me." Xiao Jiuqin pressed Bai Yan, and wanted to go in by himself.

Bai Yan grabbed his arm, "It's a lacquered wooden box, I'll go in too, it's faster to find it together."

Before Xiao Jiuqin could speak, Bai Yan had already stepped in.

The Fang mansion is luxurious and extravagant, and the study room is also very large. It is divided into three rooms, inside and outside. Both sides are densely packed with books, sandalwood tables and tables, and various brushes and inkstones are dazzling. Bai Yan, who has always loved these brushes and inks, I didn't bother to look at it for a while, and just flipped around.

According to Fang Yue, it was a lacquered wooden box the size of a palm. Bai Yan had excellent eyesight and missed every corner, but he found nothing.

Xiao Jiuqin searched all over the outside to find him, "There is no such thing as you said."

Bai Yan paused for a moment, then thought of something again, "I'm looking for the innermost room, you can find out if there is a secret room here."

Xiao Jiuqin went to look for it immediately.

Compared with the outer room, the inner room is obviously much smaller. There are mostly porcelain vases here, which were broken all over the floor. Bai Yan stepped on it, making a harsh sound, but he didn't care about it. There were sundries as far as he could see, and there was no trace of the lacquered wooden box.

Xiao Jiuqin didn't find the secret room, so he came to look for him, "What, the fire is about to come over, maybe he didn't hide well enough and was taken away by those bandits and destroyed."

"No." Bai Yan shook his head, "That thing is useless to bandits, and Fang Yue's extremely important things must have been well hidden."

There was a stalemate.

Seeing Bai Yan's expression, Xiao Jiuqin couldn't help worrying, "If you really can't find it, why don't you find another way, no matter if Fang Yue is still alive, torture him is the same."

"Fang Yue was arrested." Bai Yan sighed, "I just went out with Fang Yue, and he wanted to escape, but he was arrested by the soldiers of Xiaoyang Mansion before he could get out of the street."

"What the Xiaoyang Mansion said today is full of doubts." Xiao Jiuqin looked at him, "Where are you hurt?"

Bai Yan shook his head, "Seeing that the situation was not good, I went back the same way. The east side of Fang Mansion was already blocked by me. The people in Xiaoyang Mansion probably didn't notice it, but judging from their reaction, Fang Yue should be arrested. object."

"I just don't know how many people Fang Yue has offended." Xiao Jiuqin also became suspicious.

Bai Yan rummaged through the few remaining porcelain vases, but still found nothing, "How do you know that the people behind Fang Yue have nothing to do with the people in Xiaoyang Mansion?"

Xiao Jiuqin paused, "What do you mean?"

Bai Yan nodded, "In a place as big as Yongzhou Mansion, there are many twists and turns, but not everyone wants to get involved. Five years ago, King Yong died, and there were so many people sitting there. How many officials, the corruption of ink and disaster relief has already happened once, and the result is tragic, and it has subsided for many years, do you think there will still be so many people who will not change their minds?"

When talking about five years ago, the two of them tacitly did not say anything else.

"But how can you be sure that the people from Xiaoyang Mansion must be looking for Fang Yue?" Xiao Jiuqin still had doubts, "I have used Fu Huo Lei, and I am afraid that I have murderous intentions."

Bai Yan didn't deny it, "The Yongzhou incident was disturbed by me. Fang Yue is an insider, and he knows who the person behind him is. Now I'm going to be the best player. Once Fang Yue is persuaded to surrender, the person behind him I'm afraid I'm going to be in a hurry, so it's better to kill Fang Yue as soon as possible, and it doesn't matter whether he is caught or blown to death on the spot."

"If my guess is correct, when I sent the letter asking for help to Xiaoyang Mansion, the other party had already connected with Song Que, but my letter accelerated Fang Yue's death."

Bai Yan kicked the broken porcelain pieces under his feet, Xiao Jiuqin looked at him, "Then why didn't they assassinate secretly?"

"No, the assassination will only complicate the original simple matter. I sent the letter. They took the opportunity of rescue to kill Fang Yue, which made it difficult for me to find a chance to investigate. After all, accidents can happen at any time. I There is no time to take care of it here, as time passes, Fang Yue's death will also be annihilated in time."

"The most favorable thing is that Fang Yue has been guilty of several crimes, and he deserves his death. The imperial court won't care much about it."

"You guessed this early in the morning?" Xiao Jiuqin felt tired for Bai Yan after hearing so much, there were countless plots and tricks, and the other party killed every step of the way, but this person could not change his face.

"You overestimate me." Bai Yan continued to rummage, "If I had known this early in the morning, I would definitely not have sent a letter to Xiaoyang Mansion. At worst, I would have to find out the details of the other party first. The people in the dark are in collusion."

"Do you know who led the troops here?" Xiao Jiuqin asked.

Bai Yan looked at him, "Who?"

"The co-prefect of Xiaoyang Mansion, Zeng Xuan."

"Zeng Xuan?" Bai Yan was slightly taken aback, "Why did he come?"

"Do you know him?" Xiao Jiuqin had only heard of Zeng Xuan's name, and it was only the first time he had seen him today, but looking at Bai Yan's appearance, he looked like an old acquaintance.

"It can be considered that there have been a few encounters. He was supported by the former prefect of Xiaoyang Prefecture, and he is quite talented. With his ability, he should have been promoted long ago."

Xiao Jiuqin scoffed, "Promotion?" He seemed to look down on Zeng Xuan, "As far as I know, although he is a co-prefect, he actually has the power of magistrate. Song Que ignores everything because of Zeng Xuan. When Xuan handles affairs, everyone in Xiaoyang Mansion respects him."

Bai Yan was silent for a moment.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Xiao Jiuqin was puzzled, "Am I wrong?"

"That's right, but according to what I've heard, Zeng Xuan is afraid that he is under the eaves, so he can't be in charge." Bai Yan glanced outside, "When the fire comes, we'd better leave earlier."

"Stop looking?"

"I haven't found it after searching for so long, forget it, let's talk about it after we go out." The wet clothes on Bai Yan's body were only damp, and if he waited for a while, he might not be able to leave.

Xiao Jiuqin was naturally obedient, and the two went out.

But the accident happened suddenly, and suddenly there was another loud noise outside, which directly shook the bookshelf by the wall upside down.

"Bai Yan!" Xiao Jiuqin pulled him over, and at the same time pulled the table beside him with his other hand, barely resisting it.

But misfortunes never come singly, the beams of the house were loose, and within a split second, Bai Yan only had time to push Xiao Jiuqin away who was distracted... "Boom!" The thick log slammed hard on his back.

The dust was flying, the books were scattered all over the place, and the bookshelf next to it was crumbling.

Xiao Jiuqin pushed aside the debris like crazy, and saw Bai Yan laying on the ground with a ashen complexion, Xiao Jiuqin's eyes were stained red with blood from his mouth.

"Bai Yan..." He carefully moved the log away, but for a moment he didn't know what to do. Bai Yan lay lifeless like a piece of rag, kneeling on the ground, his fingers trembling, "Bai Yan?"

There was no response, and Xiao Jiuqin's heart sank. He didn't dare to delay any longer. He avoided the place where he was smashed, picked him up and was about to go out.

Suddenly, Bai Yan trembled.

"Xiao..." Bai Yan coughed up a mouthful of blood, Xiao Jiuqin's heart was about to break, "Don't sleep, I'll take you to the doctor..."

"That...there..." Bai Yan seemed not to be able to hear Xiao Jiuqin's words, he pointed weakly at a place, and Xiao Jiuqin suddenly stopped.

At the place where Bai Yan was smashed, a wooden lacquer box fell open.

"Take..." Bai Yan spat out blood as soon as he spoke, Xiao Jiuqin stopped him, "Stop talking, I know." With a flick of his toe, the box was kicked up and held in his hand.

Bai Yan hurt his heart and lungs, and broke two ribs, and passed out halfway. Xiao Jiuqin was afraid of knocking him, so he wished he could fly along the way.

It was originally full of injuries, but this time it almost killed Bai Yan. The doctor was busy treating Bai Yan's injuries, and Xiao Jiuqin's palms were covered in blood. He regretted it all the way. Why did he only care about the overturned bookshelf? , ignoring the log of the beam.

Bai Yan was just a literati, how could his thin body withstand such heavy blows.

Watching a basin of water quickly turn red, Xiao Jiuqin could hardly bear it several times.

The old doctor took care of Yiying, and came over to tell him, "Young master is weak, and his previous illnesses cannot be cured. This time, he hurt his heart and lungs and broke his ribs. I'm afraid he's about to suffer. Watch carefully, once he develops a fever Call me, I am going to make medicine now, I have to get rid of the congestion in his abdominal cavity first."

Xiao Jiuqin responded repeatedly, and went to see Bai Yan's situation as soon as the doctor left.

But within half an hour, Bai Yan's face was bloodless, and his hands were covered with injuries. Xiao Jiuqin carefully avoided the injuries and wrapped his hands gently, with only self-blame and distress in his chest.

When life was at stake, people subconsciously ran away, but Bai Yan pushed him away forcefully, and suffered this for him.

"A Yan..." Xiao Jiuqin lowered his head, the bitterness in his mouth almost overturned him.

What virtue and ability, Xiao Jiuqin asked himself.

If Bai Yan only cared about running away today, Xiao Jiuqin would not have the slightest resentment, rather than letting Bai Yan suffer, Xiao Jiuqin would rather let himself suffer.

Even so, the two have yet to reconcile.

Even, in the eyes of others, there is still a deep blood feud between them.

But all the assumptions were false, Xiao Jiuqin looked at Bai Yan, who was barely breathing, and his heart shattered bit by bit. The two of them had ridiculed and ridiculed countless times before, and it seemed to gradually become clear again, thinking of their swearing again and again. , Bai Yan never backed down.

He suddenly felt even more uncomfortable.

This person will not return.

He always looks unstoppable, not afraid of gossip, not afraid of censure and frame, obviously looks stubborn and old-fashioned, but in fact peels off his heart, this guy still has a soft and warm heart.

Xiao Jiuqin thought, I can't seem to hate him anymore.