Opposite the entrance hall

Entering September, the sky is getting darker and earlier. The weather that was still turbulent in the past few days suddenly cools down after a night. It is accompanied by drizzle from time to time. The rain is not heavy, but the clothes are still a little wet It felt like the surrounding area was foggy, and it was already dark when Du Heng came out from Yushitai. He walked in the rain and fog with an umbrella in his hand. There was a person standing there, hiding in the dark, holding an oil umbrella in his hand, his voice was mixed with the sound of rain, a little distant, "Lord Du, I have been waiting for you for a long time."

Qi Ziheng?

Du Heng was confused and narrowed his eyes.

When the two of them arrived at the restaurant, the rain was getting heavier and it was crashing on the eaves. Du Heng followed Qi Ran up the stairs, and when he opened the private room, Pei Zhan was still sitting inside. He looked at the person inside, Looking at the person behind him again, the confusion in his heart only increased.

"Cunxiao, come in and have a seat," Pei Zhan said while pouring wine and raised his hand, "It's raining no matter how heavy it is. I have to go back to the school grounds later. Put your umbrella there, and I will take it away later."

The latter sentence was naturally addressed to Qi Ran.

"You don't feel tired from riding a horse and holding an umbrella." Qi Ran said in a bad mood.

"You don't care, I can't beat my family's Taxue."

Qi Ran was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, and turned to Du Heng and said, "Master Du, please sit down, it's just that private dinners don't need to be so restrained."

Du Heng looked around, found a place to sit down, and Pei Zhan handed over the wine, he drank it and asked, "Did something happen?"

"There are a few things." Qi Ran filled the wine for him, and raised his head in Pei Zhan's direction, "It's a certain birthday, it's so boring, he wants to find someone to have a few drinks with him."

Du Heng looked over, quickly raised his wine glass and stood up, but before he could make a sound, Pei Zhan waved his hand and said, "Don't, don't, don't do this between us brothers, it's uncomfortable, if you have to do this, don't do it next time I'm looking for you for a drink."

Speaking of this, Du Heng had no choice but to sit back, and smiled softly: "My family asked someone to bring some pots of sake, and I will come to see you for a drink tomorrow."

Pei Zhan knew that Du Heng was from Xinan, Xinan is also known as the hometown of fine wine, and every household has its own recipe for wine making, so when he heard these words, his eyes lit up and he responded again and again.

The three of them were chatting and joking, and the pot of wine had already run out. When Qi Ran asked Xiaoer to get the wine, Du Heng said, "What's the matter?"

"Ok?"

"I heard that you are responsible for the prince's poisoning in Dali Temple, but what clues have you found?" Du Heng said in a low voice.

"It's a bit tricky," Qi Ran sighed, "I asked the eunuch of the Eastern Palace, and they said that the prince passed out just after the banquet, so the timing of the poisoning was calculated. Let us find clues so easily."

"What kind of poison is that?" Pei Zhan asked, "It's not a problem for this person to lie down. The prince is poisoned, and the situation in the court is in chaos. I heard that Cao Weiyuan is in a panic. This is his own nephew, and he still counts on it." With the crown prince ascending the throne, I can get promoted, and also, the king of Liang has restrained himself a lot recently, but he doesn’t know whether he is wise to protect himself or has ulterior motives.”

"The Tai Hospital is investigating, but there is no clue yet." Qi Ran replied.

"This incident is strange. At that time, there were many officials present, and the eating utensils were all prepared. The person who poisoned him could be so accurate. Either he was a master among them, or he knew the prince's habits well, so he could guarantee that he would not If there is a mistake, no matter who can know the Buddha, this game will be ranked early."

After hearing Du Heng's words, Qi Ran and Pei Zhan looked at each other with serious expressions on their faces. After a while, Pei Zhan said: "The crown prince is the heir, if something happens to him, the three-legged situation will have to be disrupted and reshuffled." , King Liang’s thoughts are deep, King Rui is lurking in secret, even King Qin cannot be underestimated, a single move can move the whole body, this move is a little risky.”

"Actually, there is one more person," after the words fell, Qi Ran slowly raised his head, met the confused gazes of the two people around him, moved the jug away, dipped his finger in the liquid on the side of the glass, and brushed it on the table. He wrote two words with one stroke.

Pei Zhan couldn't hold back his temper. When he finished his pen at the end, the expression on his face could already be described as unbelievable. He opened his mouth and said to himself, "This... this is... after all...impossible."

"At first I also thought it was unlikely," Qi Ran said as he wiped away the water stains on the table, and said unhurriedly: "But after thinking about it, it makes sense everywhere. Who can Knowing the prince's habits, who can arrange everything step by step without revealing any clues, if you can't let go of the child and can't trap the wolf, this move is not easy."

"According to what you said, this matter has nothing to do with King Liang Rui." Pei Zhan frowned.

"Not necessarily, what if this is a trick, it's just a trick to let us in, after all, there is no evidence that this matter has nothing to do with these two people, but what is clear is..." Speaking of this, Qi Ran closed He said with a solemn expression: "The emperor is dying."

As soon as the voice fell, the atmosphere in the room suddenly dropped to zero. The expressions of Pei Zhan and Du Heng were not pretty, and they were even a little worried.

"Dong dong dong." At this moment, Xiaoer's slamming sound came from outside the door, which broke the silence. Pei Zhan called people in, and after he put away his things, he raised his hand to signal people to go out, and then brought the wine The pot filled the wine glasses in front of the three of them, and muttered, "Okay, okay, let's not meddle in the affairs of their old Li's house. If you have wine today, you will be drunk today. It doesn't matter where he sleeps tomorrow. drink wine."

Being yelled at by Pei Zhan really dispelled the seriousness, Du Heng took a sip from the wine glass, raised his eyes to look in Qi Ran's direction, lowered his eyes and took another sip, and said softly: "There is one thing left. ?”

"What else is there?" Pei Zhan looked at a loss.

Du Heng didn't reply, just continued to drink with lowered eyes.

On the other hand, Qi Ran smiled, "The rest is a private matter, it's complicated, and I need the help of the two of you..."

The wind was blowing outside the house, and taking advantage of the drizzle, it slapped on the eaves of the branches and eaves. The sound was noisy and disordered, covering the voices in the house in the wind and rain, leaving only some inaudible whispers. It seems to be coming from the sky, and it seems to be ringing in the ear, false and true, chaotic and helpless.

The coolness of the night breeze penetrated deep into the bone marrow, and there were many shadows of trees around, swaying in the wind and rain, looking a little scary, and the man walking in the forest also added a bit of weirdness, the drizzle wet his hair, which was originally dark His robe was soaked by the rain and looked even darker, blending with the surrounding darkness, inseparable.

The man lowered his eyes, his face was obscured by the night, making it difficult to see clearly, his steps were big, but not hurried, his whole body was wet by the rain, and he did not look embarrassed, he would stop after a few steps and stand there, slightly raised his head. He started to show his chin, looked left and right, then retracted his head, and continued to move forward.

When he reached a place with dense trees, he stopped again. In the dark night, he could only see the small part of his raised chin and the smile on the corner of his lips. The smile was fleeting. At the same time, the man suddenly quickened his pace. , and galloped through the forest, the soft boots made of deerskin stepped on the dead branches and puddles, making a clicking sound.

The dim environment became a natural shelter, and the dense branches became the most powerful cover. After a while, he disappeared without a trace.

The forest was quiet, and there were rustling sounds not far away from the tree, and a few people wearing special clothes made of bark ran from behind the tree in a panic, standing at the place where the man disappeared, looking around, with faces on their faces. The expression on his face was one of irrepressible worry.

"Boss, what should I do? I lost my follower." One of them asked hurriedly, speaking in standard Nandian dialect.

The person who was called "Boss" didn't look good. He frowned and replied, "Go back and report to the general first, and withdraw."

The others got the order and left quickly. They were well-trained and evacuated in the blink of an eye.

The person hiding in the tree saw everything below clearly. He squinted his eyes, took advantage of the branches to jump lightly and landed firmly on the ground, stared at the direction where the group of people left, and looked back. When his face appeared, it was Xiao Changyu, the general of the Xiaoqi Battalion.

Xiao Changyu straightened his wet hair, and hurried forward. He knew the road very well, and he arrived at the ground after turning around. The night guard soldiers saw him coming from a distance, and rushed to greet him to report the news. "General."

"Well," Xiao Changyu nodded, "Is there anything unusual these days?"

"Just like in the past, the lieutenant general didn't make a fuss about going out, and he didn't bother the brothers much. He was talking and laughing with the brothers while roasting rabbits yesterday."

Hearing this, Xiao Changyu stopped in his tracks, turned his head and glanced at the soldier beside him, "Where did the rabbit come from?"

"Ah," the soldier was a little flustered, but still replied, "I caught it, there are a lot of forests these days, so it must be the breeding season."

When he said this, he carefully looked at Xiao Changyu's expression, but saw that the latter's expression was normal, instead he stared at him and smiled, then turned and went into the cave.

As soon as he entered the cave, Xiao Changyu's face immediately sank, and the anger in his heart surged up, especially when he saw someone reading a book on a soft couch, the anger reached its peak, cold Snorting: "You are comfortable. I am outside in the wind and rain, and you are here to enjoy yourself comfortably. Xiao Changsheng, can you use your brain next time when you do something? I didn't blame you for so many years. I have to clean up you." Damn shit, I have to wipe your ass, what do you want to raise, it’s better to raise a dog, at least you don’t have to worry about it, how can I have a younger brother like you, if your surname is not Xiao, I would have stabbed you to death, and put your body Divide the body of the five horses, chop it up, mix it with pig food, and feed it to the pigs, shit, you..."

"Wait," the bewildered Xiao Changsheng who was being scolded suddenly said, and then he didn't bother to put on his shoes, jumped off the soft couch with bare feet, ran to the stone table in front of Xiao Changyu, and put his arms around the table. Put the pillow in the table on the table, hold the wine jug on it in your arms and run to the corner, stretch your neck and shout, "Okay, you continue."

Xiao Changyu looked at the stone table with pillows in front of him, and at Xiao Changsheng in the corner who had a face of "I treat you as a brother and you treat me as a godbrother", his raised hand suddenly couldn't take it anymore, feeling like Feeling powerless after punching the cotton, he glared at him fiercely, angrily withdrew his hands and sat down.

Xiao Changsheng heaved a sigh of relief, but he hadn't let go to the end when he heard his elder brother's roar filled with anger, "You're not dead yet!"

He shrugged, rubbed his nose and walked over with a smile, carefully put the jug on the table, and asked a little flatteringly: "Brother, what's wrong with you, who messed with you? You're so angry, it's raining outside I didn't tell you to calm down, why don't you go out to cool off?"

"You still have the nerve to ask," it's okay not to mention this matter, Xiao Changyu's anger became a little more when it was mentioned, "It's not because of your good deeds, the bark clothes, the hare soldiers, Xiao... the little boy Ana Ang You son of a bitch, you have used all the things you gave him on my head, you are a good apprentice, and you have done a good job."

Hearing this, Xiao Changsheng raised his eyebrows, with an uncontrollable smug expression on his face, "Good idea, but lack of experience, it's still too tender."

"you……"

"It's almost done. In a few years, you still won't necessarily be a match. Why are you yelling?" Xiao Changyu pointed at the person in front of him and was about to speak. Xiao Changsheng slapped his fingers away and interrupted the conversation. Fumbling here and there on the cuffs of his clothes, he took out two white porcelain wine glasses, poured two glasses of wine, raised his head to drink the wine, smacked his lips and said, "By the way, why are you here suddenly?"

Xiao Changyu didn't reply, he stared at the wine glass on the table with a dignified expression, and only after a while did he say, "Ji Si probably knows about you letting Ana Ang go."

Xiao Changsheng held up the wine glass for a moment, then he became natural again in an instant. He sighed and said after the wine drank, "I said that if you can hide from the first day of the junior high school, you can't hide from the fifteenth day. If you don't believe me, you're not deceiving yourself."

"He wants to ally us."

"Alliance?"

What Xiao Changyu said just now was expected by Xiao Changsheng, so this sentence was beyond his expectation.

"What alliance?"

"The news from Lin'an this morning," Xiao Changyu didn't answer directly, but mentioned another matter, "The news said: The prince was poisoned and comatose at the birthday banquet, and he hasn't recovered yet. The sickness in the hall got worse, while King Liang and King Rui didn't see any visitors behind closed doors, now Sangong is in charge."

"The prince is poisoned?" Xiao Changsheng's face was a little ugly, and he understood the seriousness of it.

"Lin'an has been in a mess recently, I'm afraid Dajin will have to change this day," Xiao Changyu continued: "The thing that Ji Si came to look for, if I'm not wrong, it should be Jiujie Xuezhi, or another way of saying it. , is what the emperor is looking for, even if such a legendary thing is believed, the emperor's illness is probably serious, and it is estimated that it will not survive the early winter of this year."

Xiao Changsheng pursed his thin lips tightly, took out a cup from his sleeve and put it on the table side by side with his own cup, and said in a deep voice: "The king of Liang is very powerful, but his mind is deep and suspicious, and he dare not trust others easily. The empress will definitely seize power and seize power. If he is helped to ascend the throne, the Xiao family will surely become a chicken to scare others. King Rui is free and easy but lacks courage. In the future, the relatives who ascend the throne will definitely be involved in politics, and the Xiao family was not valued at that time, so they could only make wedding dresses for others."

"You missed one person." Xiao Changyu put the cup in front of him next to the two cups on the table, raised his eyes to stare at the person opposite, and said word by word: "There is also King Qin, Li Jingming."

"King Qin..." Xiao Changsheng frowned, a little confused.

Xiao Changyu withdrew his gaze, circling his fingers back and forth along the mouth of the cup, with a smile on his lips, his tone was slow and gentle, but the words he said were full of ruthlessness, "Since no matter who you choose, the Xiao family is doomed to be used for nothing. Just throw the knife, why not choose someone who can't hold the knife, I don't care how they make trouble, let me see who dares to cut off my Xiao Changyu's life and death, and my Xiao family's life and death, who dares!"

The voice is not heavy, but every word is full of undeniable courage, Xiao Changsheng stared at him and laughed out loud, "When I heard you say this, I just remembered that our ancestors were bandits, blame me , forget the origin, forget the origin.”

"Shut up, don't cause trouble for me, our ancestors are smoking," Xiao Changyu glared, filled a glass of wine and drank up, "It's getting late, I'm leaving, you Stop."

Xiao Changsheng also got up and followed to the entrance of the cave. He leaned against the cave wall and waved to the man who rushed into the rain and fog, "Guest officer, come again next time."

"Things that are embarrassing, get out of here for me."

The angry voice came along with the sound of rain, making Xiao Changsheng laugh and bent over, and he straightened up looking at the gray sky and sighed after laughing enough.

The rainy night is the same rainy night, but the people watching the rain are not the same people. Xiao Changchen also stared at the rainy night outside seriously. The sky is so dark that it makes people panic, and the field of vision is blocked by rain and fog, and there is no light. The dim candlelight in the camp shone on his side face, the light didn't reach his eyes, taking advantage of the cyan word "slave", it looked a little scary.

When Alu Manlei opened the curtain and came in, she was stunned, bit her lips and leaned over cautiously, and said softly: "Chang Chen, what are you looking at?"

Xiao Changchen remained motionless and did not reply to her words.

Simply because Alumanlei was used to this person's character, he didn't care, kicked off his shoes, jumped onto the soft couch, lay on the table and stared around, looking for a topic that this person would be interested in, "Outside It's thundering, I can't sleep, you can chat with me, why not talk about the general of Dajin, what kind of person is he?"

As she expected, Xiao Changchen really reacted, opened and closed his mouth subconsciously, and finally just said lightly, "He is a very good person."

The sound of the rain was ticking, just like the day he met the two of them for the first time, the corpses were strewn all over the field. Seizing the food, the dog opened its bloody mouth and rushed towards his neck. At the very moment, a cloud-piercing arrow hit the wolf dog's throat. When he subconsciously looked up, he saw the young general riding a horse in the rain. It seemed very sudden. The intruding god.

From that moment on, there is no Anang in this world, there is only Xiao Changchen.

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