Opposite the entrance hall

The hot climate in these dog days is dizzy and dizzy. The sun hangs high in the sky, and the halo covers the earth. The ground is steamed with heat. Standing in the sun for a while, you can feel the scorching heat. When he got up, the heat swallowed every bit of water vapor in his body, and the blink of an eye was unbearable.

Li Hongyu walked into the courtyard facing the sun, but the short distance made him sweat a thin layer on his forehead. Just as he arrived in front of the door, he saw something fly out, it was just right It hit the door frame and was bounced off, the porcelain bowl was shattered and scattered everywhere, the brown soup inside spilled out, and some of it spilled on the hem of his clothes, and it was immediately stained.

The bird hanging under the eaves was fluttering its wings in the cage, chirping to no avail, as if it wanted to run out of the cage, the cage was shaken by it, and there was a sound above Li Hongyu's head, he looked up With a glance, his face was solemn, but there was no other expression in his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, another cup hit the door frame, and with the sound of the porcelain bowl shattering, there was a hysterical roar in the room, "Take it out, I won't drink it, I won't drink it! Get out, give me all of you!" Get out! Get out of here!"

Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of various things falling to the ground, and the crackling noise made people headache.

The voice didn't stop one after another, causing Li Hongyu to look away, frowned slightly, stepped over the threshold and walked in with a cold face. So much so that the air was filled with a bitter smell of medicine, several maidservants knelt together weeping, and saluted one after another when they saw the person coming, and they were still crying, "My lord..."

Hearing the sound, the person with disheveled hair on the bed froze, his head slowly lowered, trembling uncontrollably, his hands wrapped around his legs, and he tightly circled himself against the head of the bed. Between the knees, but then raised his head nervously, glanced at the person standing in the room looking at him coldly, and hurriedly looked away.

Li Hongyang didn't get angry, and still had that gentle attitude. He just softly ordered the servant girl to clean up the things all over the floor, while he stepped over the mess and sat down on the side of the bed slowly, raising his hands to comfort his long hair. His voice was The tenderness is so tender that it is enough to make one's heart soften, "Why doesn't Mi'er take medicine and say who made you unhappy? Tell me about it."

The person on the bed did not make a sound, but hugged her tightly, without even raising her head. When Li Hongyu put his hand on her shoulder, although the movement was very light, it still made her feel panic, and her body could not stop. Trembling, he suddenly raised his eyes, his eyes were full of fear, his eyes were dull and his eyes were cloudy and timid, his lips opened and closed silently, but he couldn't make a sound.

"Be good, take medicine, don't make me angry, okay."

The rising ending sound made people think of something, Mi'er's body froze, her dull eyes gradually recovered, and it took a while for Jiao to see clearly, she even blinked her eyes, trying to see the face of the person in front of her more clearly Be more careful, and then a weak and hoarse voice sounded, "Wang... lord..."

"I'm here," Li Hongyu gently brushed away the broken hair on his forehead, wiped away the teardrops on his eyelashes, and sighed helplessly, "Why are you crying like this? Your eyes are swollen from crying, cry again It won't look good if you go down, you can't be willful anymore, your body can't stand it, it's my negligence, I will stay with you more in the future, when our child is born, the house will be full of excitement .”

I don't know if I heard the word "child", Mi'er's pupils suddenly enlarged, and the eyeballs seemed to bulge out and fall down, as if she was frightened by something, her hands tightly clenched Li Hongyu's arm, using so much strength that The fingertips of the ten fingers were a little bloodshot and white, and they penetrated deeply into the clothes and pierced into the flesh.

"No, no," she shook her head, her face was so pale, her eyes were pitifully red with tears, "Isn't this child..."

"Mi'er!" Li Hongyu suppressed the smile on his face, grabbed the conversation with a cold face, turned sideways to the maid who was cleaning up the mess, and ordered, "You go out first, and bring another bowl of soup for Madam."

After people walked out one after another, he supported Mi'er's shoulders, lowered his eyes and looked at her tenderly, and asked softly, "Mi'er, how is this king treating you?"

Mi'er was a little dazed, raised her eyelids to meet the eyes of the person in front of her, stared at it for a while, nodded as if bewitched, and replied: "Okay..."

"Then Mi'er has this king in her heart?"

"Yes..." Mier replied blankly.

There must be.

If not, how could she have become like this; if not, how could she be led by the nose again and again; if not, how could she not even bear to see him sad, wishing to hand the broken heart in front of his eyes, let him want Don't be happy with everything.

She doesn't know about love, and was sent to the palace by her family since she was a child. The loneliness in the palace makes it difficult to see most men. She was full of girlish thoughts and then met in the Royal Garden for the first time. This man is gentle, considerate, humble and polite. Whether it's sweet or bitter, it all comes from this person. She doesn't know what happens between other couples, she only knows that this person is her God.

"Mi'er is the wife of this king. This king should love you very much. I can't bear to make you feel wronged. Everything about you, whether good or bad, is very important to me. This child is also the same. He is your body." A part of you is nourished by your flesh and blood, that is another you in this world, this king also cherishes him, no matter how you get it, he is now our child."

This voice seemed to have the power to bewitch people's hearts. Mi'er listened dully, and Li Hongyu held one hand and gently stroked her abdomen through her clothes. Although it was still flat, she seemed to really feel that there was a life conceived in it. , a common child belonging to her and the prince.

"My... our... child?" Mi'er opened her eyes wide, and the tears in her eyes flowed down her cheeks like broken pearls.

"Yes, our child." The demagogic voice sounded again, as if it was enough to appease all the uneasiness.

There was a servant girl's inquiry from outside, Li Hongyu called people in, took the bowl containing the soup, scooped out some soup with a spoon, and gently brought it to Mi'er's mouth, "If you want to be a mother, go Don't play petty temper anymore."

Ben was struggling in the cage hanging under the eaves, trying to break free and return to the sky. At this moment, the bird was lying listlessly in the cage. If it weren't for the twitching of its feathers from time to time, it would have seemed as if it had lost its breath. Accept your fate and stop doing this useless work.

Li Hongyu left the house after waiting for the others to fall asleep, just as Alu rushed over, bowed and leaned over and whispered something in his ear, "My lord, you have news about the eunuch you are looking for."

"How?" Li Hongyu asked anxiously.

"At first we didn't say anything, but later our people threatened the eunuch's elder brother and parents, so he said everything," Alu said in a low voice, "As the prince guessed, this man was indeed brought back from outside the palace. A dead baby died just a few days after it was born, but the eunuch didn’t say who he gave the dead baby to, only that someone gave him a huge sum of money.”

"Any more?"

"What else?" Alu thought for a while, and then said: "The person who sent the message mentioned that the eunuch said that the person who entrusted him to transport the dead baby had a sharp old voice, like an old eunuch. What is the identity of this person, my lord?" Why are you looking into this?"

Li Hongyu glanced sideways at the person. Alu knew he was talkative, so he quickly lowered his head, "This subordinate is talking too much, master calm down."

"Before Liang Wang had an accident, Concubine Duan made a fuss in Qifeng Palace. Although she was suppressed by the queen, there is no impenetrable wall in this world. Ning Xiang told me about it. I will let you investigate I checked, Concubine Wan didn't interact with many people when she was in the palace, I just wanted to see what was tricky behind it, I asked you to look up the eunuchs and maids who were sent out of the palace inexplicably, I thought there could be some clues related to the queen, never Thinking about it is an unexpected gain." Li Hongyu narrowed his eyes.

"What did the prince discover?" Alu was not suitable for these schemes at all, and he was still at a loss after thinking about it for a while.

Li Hongyu turned around the corridor and said unhurriedly: "When Concubine Wan got mad, she burned the Lenggong clean, and even the newborn little prince was burned to charcoal. What a coincidence, don't you think?" Coincidentally, at this time, a dead baby was secretly transported into the palace, and it was as old as the little prince."

"Master, what you mean is that the fifth prince is still alive?" After a little push, Alu understood, his face changed suddenly, and his eyes suddenly enlarged, as if he couldn't believe what he said.

"I'm afraid it's more than that." Li Hongyu stopped and looked at the sparkling lake with a very solemn expression, and murmured: "If you can send this little eunuch out of the palace without anyone noticing, the person behind the palace The identity in the middle is definitely not simple, but this matter is getting more and more interesting."

A koi suddenly jumped out of the originally calm lake, raised a beautiful arc in the air and then sank into the water, splashing large swathes of water and causing ripples.

He threw down the fish food in his hand, and the fish in the lake scrambled to grab it. Qi Xu looked away from Qi Nian who was lying on the edge of the fence feeding the fish. He took a sip of tea, put down The teacup waved at him, "Nian'er, come here."

Hearing the call, Qi Nian threw away all the remaining fish food in his hand, walked to Qi Xu's side, and asked softly, "Uncle, what's the matter calling Nianer?"

"Your father is not at the house these days, did you neglect your homework?" Qi Xu picked up the handkerchief on the table, and gently and carefully wiped the stains off his hands.

"Nian'er didn't dare to waste a day, my father told Nian'er before he left, and when he came back, he would take the exam for Nian'er, if he couldn't pass his father's test, he would send Ji..."

Having said that, Qi Nian suddenly realized what he just said, rolled his eyes and immediately covered his lips nervously with his hands, his round eyes were drooping, and his long eyelashes flickered, it was not difficult to see the panic in his heart.

"Ji?" Qi Xu heard the abnormality in the words all of a sudden, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Ji what? Why didn't Nian'er say anything?"

Qi Nian knew that this matter could not be treated lightly, and he almost said it out of negligence before, but now no matter what Qi Xu thinks about it, he just shook his head.

The Ji in these words naturally refers to Ji Si, Qi Xi knew in his heart, seeing the familiarity and kindness when Qi Nian mentioned Ji Si, he must have had a lot of contacts in private, Qi Xu sighed, he did not say anything about Ji Si Having had too many deep friendships, if one understands and cognition comes from others, it is even more impossible to know what this person is capable of, so that everyone, big and small, will be willing to follow.

He patted Qi Nian's head lightly, lowered his voice and asked, "If you're talking about Ji Si?"

Hearing this, Qi Nian's eyes widened and he blinked, as if he was asking how you knew.

"Do you like him?" Qi Xu asked again.

This time, Qi Nian let go of his hand and whispered back, "Master Ji is a good man. He taught me calligraphy and poetry, and brought me a lot of interesting things. He treated me very well, and when he came, my father's face was full of tears. The ones who are smiling, father and Master Ji laugh together more than I have ever seen before, Master Ji has a good temper, I like Master Ji."

The more he talked, the lower his voice became, as if he was afraid that Qi Xu would not be happy when he heard it.

The latter's mood was indeed extremely complicated, and he thought to himself: even a child like Nian'er can see that Ah Heng treats Ji Si differently. Messy Ji Si, if this matter gets out, don't say that the father will be furious, just say that the prince has always wanted to win over the Qi family, and he will definitely not let go of such an opportunity, then this matter will really mess up set.

Thoughts were churning in his mind, he hoped that Qi Ran could feel at ease, but also felt that he was extremely unlovable and wanted to be a villain who beat up mandarin ducks, but he opened his mouth but didn't say anything after all, he just sighed quietly, "That's it. Don't talk about things and listen to others, but remember."

"Nian'er knows." Qi Nian nodded obediently.

Qi Xu's heart was still complicated, so he had to pour a cup of tea. Before the tea was drunk, the servant Zhong Yu who was waiting beside him walked into the pavilion with a panicked face. Khan didn't bother to wipe it off, and when he entered the Huxin Pavilion, he first bowed and saluted to say hello.

"You are in such a hurry, could there be a ghost chasing you?" Qi Xu joked with a smile.

Compared with his leisurely elegance, Zhong Yu's expression is not very good-looking, but he said in a panic: "Young master, Ban Xia just sent someone to send a message, saying that the uncle wants to make peace with the young lady."

As soon as the words fell, Qi Xu's face darkened, and he placed the porcelain cup in his hand heavily on the table. The brittle porcelain knocked against the hard stone table. It couldn't withstand such a collision, and immediately shattered into several pieces, and the warm tea flowed all over the place. Hand, he didn't bother to wipe his lips and coughed.

Seeing Qi Xu coughing, Qi Nian panicked immediately, patted Qi Xu's back carefully, and called out in a flustered tone, "Uncle, what's the matter, Zhongyu, go and call the doctor."

"Young one, let's go." Zhong Yu also had a worried expression on his face, he turned around and planned to run back after speaking.

"I have nothing to do, don't go," Qi Xu said in a hoarse voice, coughing a few times from time to time, asking: "When did it happen?"

"Last night my uncle had a big quarrel with Miss, and then my uncle mentioned this matter. The Yang family is now in a turmoil, but my uncle seems to be determined, and no one will change his mind after being persuaded by anyone. .”

Qi Xu's face turned cold again, and he hurriedly asked, "Where's Miss?"

"Miss is not much different, she just reads in the room."

Hearing this, Qi Xu heaved a long sigh, "This girl is used to hiding things in her heart, she was like that when she was young, when she felt sad, she would read day and night, even if she was sad, she could still pretend to be calm. She doesn't want to show weakness at all, I often say that she is cruel to others, but in fact she is even more cruel to herself, and now she must feel uncomfortable, kind of jade."

"The little one is here."

"You make arrangements, let's go to the Yang Mansion." Qi Xu ordered.

"Yes."

After making the arrangement, Qi Xu looked back at Qi Nian who was beside him, but before he could speak, this person spoke first, "Uncle, Auntie must be feeling sad right now, I'll go talk to her, it's okay to relieve my boredom and make fun of it." ?”

Qi Xu wanted to refuse at first, but after thinking about it, he agreed, and after a few people tidied up and arrived at Yang's mansion, another hour passed, and the people of Yang's mansion saw the bamboo leaf logo of Qi's family on the carriage from a distance, He hastily sent someone to communicate, so when Qi Xu and the others came out of the carriage, the housekeeper of the Yang Mansion stood aside early and saluted, "How come Young Master Qi is free today, but what's the matter?"

"It's not a big deal, I just heard that Young Master Yang intends to reconcile with my sister, so I came to see what's going on. Why, I don't know what Guanshi Wu said?" Qi Xu's attitude and temperament were even. It felt like a spring breeze, but the words he said were aggressive, "It's strange, could it be that the people in Qifu made a mistake?"

Steward Wu raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and smiled wryly: "Master Qi, the matter of my young master and young mistress can't be explained clearly in a few words, and it's not a small talk. After all, how my young master treats his young wife all these years is this. It’s obvious to all, how could it be possible to propose reconciliation, I’m afraid there might be some misunderstanding in the middle, we servants can’t do anything, you might as well go and see and persuade.”

After finishing speaking, he stood sideways and sent someone to lead Qi Xu and his party in.

Yang Qi's family has been married over the years. The Qi family has lost too much money and the Yang family has lost too much money. The one who owes the most is Yang Qin. When Qi Xu's accident happened, Yang Yongtai would definitely not take care of the troubles if Yang Qin didn't come forward. Outsiders can see It turned out that Yang Qin took advantage of the danger to marry Qi Xi. In fact, it was precisely because of this marriage that the foundation of the Qi family would not be destroyed once.

Thousands of thoughts surged in Qi Xu's heart. He was ashamed of being with Qi Xi and also accepted Yang Qin's kindness. He hoped that these two people would love each other more than others, and raise their eyebrows together. But how can he decide the matter of love, it can only be Thinking about persuading him later.

As soon as he arrived at the courtyard where Qi Xi lived, Ban Xia, who was guarding the door, hurried up to greet him, and greeted him with blessings, "Young Master."

"Miss hasn't been out of the house?"

"No, it's been a night, and the food brought in is placed on the table intact, and this iron body can't bear it." Ban Xia's anxious little face was wrinkled together, and she spoke at a slow speed. Much faster than usual.

Hearing this, Qi Xu raised his eyes to look at the closed door, and passed Qi Nian's hand over, "Look at Young Master Sun, I'll go in and have a look."

"Yes."

Qi Xu pushed open the door and walked in. The wax in the room was extinguished after burning overnight, but the wax oil dripped down the candlestick to the floor, forming a thick layer. Looking around the room, he saw lying on the desk. Qi Xi, who was asleep on the bed, looked around, took the cloak hanging on the wooden beam beside the bed, and gently covered her body.

Qi Xi seemed to feel something and slowly opened his eyes. Seeing someone who shouldn't be here, he was stunned and called out, "Brother?"

"How come I sleep here, and I'm not afraid of catching a cold."

Hearing the voice, Qi Xi sat up and smiled at the person, "I found this ancient book and read it so fascinated that I forgot the time."

"Oh, what ancient books are so interesting to tell me." Qi Xu asked casually flipping through the scattered books on the table.

"Called..." Mingming read the book all night, but he opened his mouth but couldn't remember what was written in the book, and he didn't even remember the title of the book, Qi Xi's eyes darkened He lowered his eyes and said nothing.

"Finally," Qi Xu sat on a chair beside him and said, "What's the matter with you and Yang Qin? I saw that you had something on your mind before, and I thought it was a matter between your husband and wife. I, as a brother-in-law, can't ask more questions. But how did it become the situation where we have to reconcile and leave now, what happened?"

What's going on?

Qi Xi also wanted to know, she pursed her lips and said in a calm tone: "Girl Banxia, ​​it's just a trivial matter, so I'd like to trouble my brother to run, you are not in good health, so don't worry about these trivial matters, I will handle it myself. "

"Small matter?" Qi Xu laughed angrily at her calm and calm appearance, "Do you really want to say goodbye to Yang Qin and be happy with each other? Tell me the truth, don't you still Can't let go of that Shen Zixiang."

He stopped and glanced at Qi Xi, who lowered his eyes and couldn't see the expression on his face, so he let out a long sigh, "I blame me for this matter, if it wasn't for me, you and Yang Qin wouldn't be what you are today. In such a situation, after all, our Qi family owes Yang Qin a lot, that’s all, maybe He Li is not a bad thing for you two, since you have no other in your heart, it’s better to be well each other, I just hope you will think about it more, and don’t do it in the future regret."

"No," Qi Xi said urgently, "I just..."

She didn't continue to speak the following words, but raised her eyes and looked in the direction of the door.

Qi Xu seemed to understand who was behind him, so he turned around and saw Yang Qin standing outside the door silently. He didn't know how long he had been here. His face was covered with bruises, and the right side of his face was swollen. It's a bit miserable, guessing that because of the matter of Heli, Mr. Yang's family has served him a lot.

None of the three made a sound, and the situation seemed a little awkward. It was Yang Qin's cough that broke the deadlock first. He approached and nodded and smiled generously, "When did my brother come here? I don’t even know if you pass it on, there is no rule at all, and I will punish them tomorrow.”

"I told them not to pass it on. It's not a big deal. I just thought that I haven't seen Xiaoxi for a long time, so I came to take a look."

"That's just right, and it saves me a trip to the Qifu later." Yang Qin smiled and took out a thin booklet from his pocket, "I'm here to deliver and leave the book."

"Yunchuan..."

Qi Xu frowned and was about to speak out to persuade him, but Yang Qin cut him off, "Brother, I, Yang Yunchuan, am not good at writing or martial arts, and I have been doing nothing all these years to be a dandy. Ambition, other people are far better than me by a hundred times and a thousand times. If it weren't for my youthful and frivolous force, it would not be like this. I am sorry for Qi Xi, because I ruined her good marriage with my own way, and now I feel ashamed , since two minds are different and it is difficult to come to one mind, it is better for both of us to go our own way so that we can go our own way, what elder brother said is right, perhaps it is not a bad thing for us to be separated."

"That's not what I meant." Qi Xu explained anxiously.

"I know, my brother has taken care of the two of us, Yang Qin thank you here," Yang Qin saluted respectfully, as if he was much more stable than before, and his words and deeds were very decent, then straightened up, his eyes fell On Qi Xi who had been silent since he came in, he leaned closer, bowed and saluted, and said in a light tone: "I have been accompanied by Miss Lao Qi for these years, and Miss Wang will be named Qi again, comb her temples again, and look beautiful." Sweeping the crescent eyebrows, showing a graceful posture, choosing the master of high-ranking officials, two happy lives, white temples sharing the same hair, seeing you again in the future, forgetting the past, and the breeze is still there."

After finishing speaking, he put He Lishu on the table and gently pushed it in front of Qi Xi, the words he said had a little smile, far from the usual laughing appearance, he said: "Qi Xi, I let go .”

Just one sentence made Qi Xi's heart hurt like a needle. She blinked unconsciously, and didn't look at it until Yang Qin limped out, and didn't feel cold until the sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Opening that book and Li Shu with a straight face, he said in a hoarse voice, "The fate is not compatible, but please say goodbye..."

The voice was very soft, only Qi Xu in the room could hear it clearly, but he was helpless, he just glanced at the two of them, and finally heaved a long sigh.

There is a saying in the Buddhist scriptures: if the heart does not move, people will not move rashly.

Qi Xi touched the position of her heart, it was just numb when she was separated from Shen Zixiang, but now it hurts so much that she clenched her clothes tightly but still couldn't relieve it.

The leaves outside the house fluttered down, as if they were telling something.

Du Heng withdrew his eyes from the fallen leaves, and said sideways: "After passing this forest, Qu Ding is in front of him. Although King Qin was ordered to govern Qu Ding, Qu Ding is not the only one who has the final say. The governor of Qu Ding Ren Shikai heard that this person is a man with great vision, he can't be said to be good or bad, but he is definitely not upright and strict, and we must deal with him this time."

Qi Ran pursed his lips and said, "Quding and Shuzhou belong to Shudian, one of the Ten Dao Dao of the Great Jin Dynasty, and Quding is a fortress, and many forces are involved in it. The Kong family's family is here. If I I remember correctly, the King of Qin not only governed this place, but also served as the commander of the capital of Shu and Yunnan."

"Yes, I still remember the sudden sudden death of the commander of the capital at that time. The court couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while, so the king of Qin was asked to take up the post temporarily. But who would have thought that the king of Qin would be recalled to Beijing by order the next year? I thought it was a short-term return to Beijing, and I didn't re-appoint the commander of the capital of Shu and Yunnan. It has been a year since I returned to Beijing, and I guess I won't go back based on the situation." Du Heng replied.

"You said Ren Shikai knew we were coming to Quding?"

"Of course I know." Du Heng didn't understand why Qi Ran asked such a question, and he looked inexplicably in his eyes, "Although these local officials are not in Beijing, they are very well-informed. There is something wrong in Lin'an. They will receive the news immediately, perhaps Ren Shikai is waiting outside the city right now."

There was no one around in the forest, only the hissing of horses and the rustling of leaves blown by the wind, but suddenly the sound of footsteps and hooves came from behind the two of them, and as the sound gradually approached, the two of them could see clearly The source of the sound was a dart team consisting of more than a dozen people.

The path in the forest is narrow, and the two had to steer their horses to one side to avoid it, but staring at the group of people, Qi Ran suddenly said, "Then let Ren Shikai know that we have arrived in Quding."

What he said was ambiguous, but Du Heng followed his direction to look at the dart team and immediately understood.

Then only the sound of wheels and horseshoes stopped, and it took a while for the sound to sound slowly.

The closer you get to Quding, the more you can see the bustling. There are all kinds of shouting and selling outside the city, which is even more lively than the hot sun. After drying in the sun for a while, the clothes will be soaked in sweat. Many people They all turned their eyes to the shed built on the side, but no one dared to approach the mansion holding a big knife in the shed.

It was like this in the past few days, seeing such a big battle, the people around knew that something important was going to happen, and they became more interested in watching the excitement, and some simply didn't go to the city, and found a place under the shade of a tree to enjoy the cool .

"My lord, drink some herbal tea." The man in the green official uniform in the arbor bowed and handed a cup of hot tea to the man in the scarlet official uniform.

The latter was about forty years old, with a gentle appearance and a beard that added a bit of elegance, giving people the impression that there was no harm, and he looked easy to handle. He was Quding Inspector Ren Shikai.

He took a sip of herbal tea from the teacup, which dispelled the hotness in his heart, and then said: "It stands to reason that you should arrive today no matter whether you take the pipeline or the trail, did the investigators come back with news?"

"I just came back and said that I didn't see two young men coming from Lin'an, whether it was the pipeline or the trail."

"That's weird," Ren Shikai said to himself while touching the rim of the cup, "Could it be that they took another path?"

Hearing the sound, the green-clothed official hurriedly said: "My lord, I heard that Qi Ran, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, is very smart and thoughtful. Although Du Heng has only been in office for a short time, a ninth-rank supervisory censor can climb up Now this position, this person must not be easy, these two people have come to check Qu Ding's accounts over the years, and they may have come prepared secretly, we have to..."

Before he finished speaking, Ren Shikai gave him a cold look and then hurriedly stopped talking.

At this time, there was a commotion in the direction of the city gate. Ren Shikai looked up for a while, frowned and asked, "Send someone over there to see what's going on there? Why are there so many people around?"

"Yes."

Before the cup of tea was finished, the official scout came trotting back in a hurry, bowed and said, "Reporting to my lord, there was a quarrel between a bodyguard team and the city gate officer, and it has been dealt with properly."

"Bart team?" Ren Shikai put down the cup and asked, "Where is the dart team?"

"It's from Gu Yu, it looks like there's nothing wrong."

"Okay, let the crowd spread out, what does it look like if they are all crowded together." Ren Shikai ordered displeased.

The official ran back in a hurry and roared fiercely. As expected, the crowd dispersed one after another. No one noticed that the man with lowered eyes in the escort team slightly raised his head and glanced at the awning, with a smear on the corner of his mouth. A successful smile.

When they were about to enter the city, one of the crowd turned around and saw an official who possessed Ren Shikai and said a few words in Ren Shikai's ear. The latter then stood up, led the other officials with a solemn expression, and rushed towards a group of officials in a panic. rushed everywhere.

The escort team entered the city and went forward for a certain distance, and when they reached an open area, Qi Ran raised his head and bowed to thank him: "Thank you, Second Brother Zhao, if not, the two of my brothers lost their way, maybe it would be today. I can't get into the city yet."

"It's all right, it's just a matter of raising your hands." The head of the escort is a tall and thick man, and he waved his hands quite casually when he heard the words, "I think you are quite interesting, and your martial arts are even more extraordinary. If you have the opportunity, come Gu Jue is looking for me, I'll treat you to a drink, if you have something to do today, go ahead and see you later."

"Goodbye."

After the group of people had gone far away, Du Heng came to his side and looked at the back of the group of people and said, "Do you think they really believed our words that we lost our way?"

"They're not stupid, so they don't believe it." Qi Ran glanced sideways at Du Heng.

"Then why help us?"

"Who knows, there are so many unreasonable things in this world, why do we have to figure it out, maybe it will become clear in the future."

As Qi Ran spoke, he walked forward. Du Heng was lost in thought for a while and then followed. He looked at the bustling market around him and said in a low voice: "The person I saw in the arbor earlier should be Ren Shikai. He was waiting for us a few days ago, but he is well-informed, I am afraid that someone will pass the news to him as soon as we leave Lin'an, what are we going to do now?"

"What do you think?" Qi Ran didn't answer but threw the question back.

"Since he has been prepared for a long time, we can't see any clues in Qu Ding, but the more this happens, the more it shows that Qu Ding is far more complicated than we thought. There must be something tricky here. Why don't we stay for two days and inquire about Kong Lingqiu's situation?" If there is nothing to gain, go to Shuzhou."

Qi Ran stopped and was puzzled, "What are you doing in Shuzhou?"

"I came and went with you, and I shall return with you. Since we are friends, there is no reason for you to go alone. Although I don't know what you are going to do, it is better to have me alone than you to fight alone. If necessary, I can help One or two."

"Thank you."

Fortunately, Qi Ran is a person who is too emotionally exposed, so he can't express his gratitude because of his temperament, but just silently put this friendship in his heart.

The two found an inn to stay in. The inn was not young, it seemed that they had stayed in this inn for many years, and they were very enthusiastic. I heard that the two came to Quding for a visit, and they talked a lot about the strange mountains and rivers nearby. Scenery, the Kong family was mentioned at the end.

"I see that the two masters are both dressed like this and should be literati. It just so happens that the young master of the Kong family will meet friends with poems in Pinfeng Tower in a few days, and make friends with literati and inkmen all over the world. If you have time, you can also go and have a look."

"Make friends with poetry?" Qi Ran glanced at Du Heng, and then continued to ask: "This young master of the Kong family is very elegant. Speaking of which, the Kong family used to be the head of the family. Why did they move back to Quding from Lin'an? If they It's still there, how can the Qi family get the head of this family to do it, after all, compared with the Kong family, the Qi family is probably not qualified."

Du Heng was a little surprised at what he said, and he glanced at him calmly, and he even scolded the young master of the Qi family for fooling people, he is really a cruel person.

"My lords don't know something. The Kong family has long been inferior to what it used to be. We, Qu Ding, all know about it. It's a good thing to say that you have a high vision and a heart that cares about mountains and rivers, and you don't want to be entangled by the turmoil of the court. It's hard to say that It’s because the children in the family are not as good as the next generation, if there is some ability in these years, only one person has emerged, but he is a descendant of a concubine, and he was kicked out of the family tree after many years, it seems to be called Kong or something.”

Kong Feng!

The two looked at each other, and they both saw the point of the words in each other's eyes. Du Heng hurriedly asked: "Why was this collateral lineage kicked out of the genealogy? But did something happen?"

"It's weird to say that, I also knew a thing or two from other people's talk about it," the little girl lowered her voice and said solemnly: "The young master of the direct line of the family had his legs cut off by this side line. They are still paralyzed now. According to the servants of the Confucian Mansion, the screams were loud at that time. Everyone rushed over and saw the man standing in a pool of blood with a hatchet, and the young master of the direct line lay beside his feet, with blood all over his mouth. With a sneer, it's scary."

Qi Ran's expression darkened, as if he couldn't connect the person in the conversation with Kong Lingqiu.

"Let's forget about it?" Du Heng asked again.

"This matter is a family scandal, so it is not appropriate to publicize it. In addition, the governor Wang came forward at the time, and finally kicked him out of the Kong family tree, so let it go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the shopkeeper's shout came from downstairs, Xiaoer turned his head and responded, and then said with a smile: "Both masters and younger ones go down first, just call if you have anything to do."

"It's work."

After the person went downstairs, Du Heng cautiously peeked his head, then closed the door and sat back down. He lowered his voice and said, "Ren Shikai and Kong Lingqiu know each other? How can these two get in touch?"

Qi Ran also couldn't understand the relationship here, frowned and thought for a while: "If what the waiter said is true, there are two solutions to this question."

"what for?"

"Ren Shikai is the governor of a state, and he will never open his mouth to intercede for a descendant of a family. There can only be two situations. One is that he has a reason." Qi Ran poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Du Heng, and then opened the cup. One was placed in front of him, holding the teapot and pouring tea into it without rushing, "Second, there is a personal relationship, no matter which two people have a relationship, it must not be simple."

Du Heng stared at the cup on the table for a while, and suddenly felt that his trip to Quding was more complicated than expected.