Tai sui

It's amazing, there is a dead man with the same name and surname as my third brother.

Xi Ping said to himself: If there is such a fate, shouldn't we say goodbye?

But for some reason, he couldn't worship.

His feet seemed to be stuck on the ground, his heart beat faster and faster, his back was covered with sweat, and he couldn't even take his eyes off the skeleton.

The skeleton tilted its head slightly, the index finger and middle finger of the left hand were curled up, supporting the cheekbone together, and the thumb rested on the edge of the jaw line.Those empty eye sockets seemed to cast a helpless gaze, staring at him from a few steps away, as if alive.

Xi Ping almost had the illusion that the next moment, the skeleton would say, "What trouble did you get into again?"

He suddenly looked away, bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, turned his back not to look at the skeleton, and sat on the spot, concentrating on the bloody smell from his mouth.

What is he thinking... There must be something weird in this ghost place!

Brother Luo taught that the five sense organs are born out of the body, and are most likely to be disturbed by illusions. When you are impatient, you must not act impulsively.First of all, close the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body, look inside the spiritual altar, examine what you have just thought, remember that many illusions come from the heart, and they are nothing but greed and fear. "Greedy" is not enough for him, and he has not suffered from "not getting what he wants" when he grows up to this age, so is it "fear"?

That's right, Xi Ping quickly found a theory to explain his "illusion": it must be because he has heard that there are troubles everywhere recently, and he has been faintly worried about King Zhuang who is on the southern tour.

Thinking of this, Xi Ping breathed a sigh of relief - he had only received a letter from his third brother reporting his safety not long before he fell into the sea.

Since the opening of the spiritual orifice, Xi Ping can easily distinguish the aura of Xinren. Although the handwriting is similar, Xi Ping can tell at a glance which ones are written by the third brother himself and which ones are written by Bering for his laziness.

That bare "Anhao" is definitely a handwritten letter—Brother Bering would at least write a few words of exhortations like that.

There must be hallucinogens in the inscriptions all over the floor, but unfortunately he doesn't know a single word. It would be great if Xi Yue was here at this time.

Although Xi Ping "figured it out" that it was all an illusion, for some reason, he subconsciously avoided the skeleton named "Zhou Ying".He turned his head to study another skeleton beside him.

The name of the skeleton was "Zhou Qi", tall and tall, with broad shoulders and slightly narrow hips, Xi Ping felt that this man had a big face before his life.The skeleton stood with its head slightly down, silently "looking" at Xi Ping sitting at his feet, giving off a gentle and sad feeling for no reason.

It's really strange here, why are there so many joys and sorrows in a pile of bones?

Xi Ping looked at him for a moment, couldn't help touching the skeleton, and felt a faint aura passing over his fingertips, and then dispersed like fine sand in the wind.

Then a deep man's voice rang in his ear: "Ah Qing, Kun, the second brother is gone, you all are well..."

As soon as the words fell, the faintly flickering spiritual light on the bones that seemed to be carved by Bai Ling dissipated, revealing the pale mortal bones.

Like a dead person exhaling his last breath, dust returns to ashes, and the illusion of "it is alive" just now disappeared.

However, this ordinary last words sounded like a thunderbolt, which shocked Xi Ping, who was not afraid of the sky and the earth, into a pale face——Princess Anyang's name is "Qing", His Majesty Taiming's name is "Kun"...

He seems to know who "Zhou Qi" is!

Xi Ping hastily dug out from the mustard seeds that Pang Jian forced him to read "West Journey Sanji". It was not a serious book, but a fairy history of the Northern Kingdom for the enlightenment of young monks. It described the scenery of various countries in the form of travel notes. Tradition, by the way, brings out the major events and important people that happened in modern times in various countries.

Xi Ping turned to the "Nanwan Chapter" and looked up the royal family map recorded in the appendix—because this book has been out for some years, it only records the generation of Emperor Taiming...

Qi, the second son of Xianzong, Wan Zhaoxi died in the 24th year, and Wan Taiming was crowned Prince Rui in the second year.

Prince Rui Zhou Qi is His Majesty's brother who died young.

Emperor Taiming waved his hands and said wearily, "Back off."

"Your Majesty! Guzhou is in a hurry. Today, mobs besieged the Yunshan county government office in Guzhou, and they set up a flag. Sugu's general soldiers dare not act without a tiger amulet. This matter..."

"I said to step back." The emperor suddenly raised his eyelids, and his loose eyelids folded into sharp arcs, like an old wolf king with his head and minions still present, "We will discuss it tomorrow at the court."

The old official grabbed the ground with his head, seeing that His Majesty was indifferent, he didn't dare to say any more, and stepped back silently. Before leaving, he took a look at Marquis Yongning, who was poking at the side, looking at his nose, nose and mouth, and almost sprayed the word "Ning Xing" from his eyes Go out and get stuck on Yongninghou's face.Forefathers and ancestors, what time is it, Your Majesty is still in the mood to drink and have fun with this old boy!Even if the surname Xi used to be a male Zhongwei Jie, at this age, what else could confuse the Lord?

Just outrageous!

Marquis Yongning stood in front of the decoration calmly, without raising his eyelids.

Emperor Taiming turned away the idlers, closed his eyes and rubbed his temples for a long time before giving the seat to Marquis Yongning.

Lord Hou offered to sit down, without panic at all, and casually advised His Majesty, "It's important to do business."

The servants delivered the warm wine and then left the Nuan Pavilion—every year on the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, His Majesty would drink half the night with Lord Hou, and no one would be disturbed at this time.

In the early years, there were a lot of rumors about the relationship between the monarch and his ministers. With the imperial power, everything seemed to become a palace secret, for people to chew on for a long time.

But the close old slave knows that His Majesty has never been better than Nanfeng.The Marquis of Yongning is not a qualified sycophant, he doesn't even know how to make fun of him, besides his good looks, he is just a taciturn and boring middle-aged man on the inside—but no matter how handsome he is, it was decades ago. At Pentecost, Pan An is the only one with hair and stomach.

The two of them drank purely, and they didn't talk much about the tea and drink, and they drank very restrainedly. The two of them shared a small jar, and after drinking, "the minister will leave, and your majesty take care of the dragon body".This happens every year, and I don't know what kind of ceremony it is, which is very puzzling.

But this year, the "ceremony" has changed slightly.

After Emperor Taiming dismissed his servants, he took out a brocade box and handed it to Marquis Yongning. Inside was a set of jewellery, with a large orb shining brightly in the middle.Except for the bead, Marquis Yongning knew at a glance that it was produced by the Yue family, and it was an orphan product for some years, he had never seen it before, and it was very carefully preserved.

"This is……"

"I heard that, now we can change to a big house in Hexi, Lingyang." Screening the crowd and waiting, His Majesty's tone eased a lot, "This was sent back by someone from Anyang a while ago. My fourth sister, when she was young, The most arrogant and willful, the unlucky things that steal people's beauty have been done. Now that I think about it, I shouldn't. Take the things back to your wife. The fourth sister asked me to return the things to the original owners, and then pay for her. That Haizhu is She got it by chance in the East China Sea, and she was so rare that she was never willing to set it up, so it was an apology."

How can the emperor make amends, the emperor is always right.

Marquis Yongning didn't know what kind of madness he was having, so he could only say: "Your Majesty and the eldest princess are so cheap..."

Emperor Taiming waved his hand, half complaining, and he said: "She sent back more than this one thing, and asked me to send it to her one by one... Sigh, at this age, many old friends are gone, where are you going?" Send it? It’s hard for me. But what can I do? In her whole life, she spent a few years happily as a little girl. Before she left, she wanted to put Nian Xiang in place, and I had to agree. "

Marquis Yongning was startled: What do you mean?Why does this sound strange and ominous.

The emperor squinted his dim eyes and looked at the corner of the Nuan Pavilion: "The peony in the Nuan Pavilion that has not moved for many years suddenly bloomed today. How can there be a peony that blooms in the first month of the world? I know it... Anyang must be Let's go, this is her coming back to take a look at me."

Marquis Yongning followed his line of sight, and saw that there was indeed a pot of peonies blooming, which was inappropriately bright beside the bleak big clock.

It happened to be on the hour, and the clock rang to announce the time, and the flower clusters trembled slightly in the sound of the bell, which made people feel frightened for no reason.

The old emperor stared at the peony as if he was confused, and murmured: "You also choose today to be with the second brother, because I am afraid that I will grow old and forget so many days?"

Marquis Yongning quickly changed his mind: Listen to what this means, Princess Anyang is gone?But she's a half-celestial being, and she's still far away from the five evils, and she doesn't have to fight evil spirits all day long at the South Mine... What happened?

"His Majesty……"

However, before he could ask, the old emperor interrupted him again: "By the way, the imperial concubine is not feeling well these few days, you should visit her when you have time."

Yongning Hou said: "Yes, I will let my wife enter the palace tomorrow to greet the noble concubine. Your Majesty just..."

"I said you, not your wife."

Marquis Yongning was silent for a moment, then said respectfully: "Even though they are brothers and sisters, there are differences between men and women, so we should avoid suspicion."

Look what, he is not a doctor.Wouldn't it be better for her to drink two sips of snow wine?When he entered the palace once, he had nothing to say except to stare at her. When she turned around, she hesitated and went drunk herself. One day she drank like a living dead.

"At this age, are you avoiding suspicion?" The old emperor said, "Xi Zhengde, you old bastard... To be honest, you feel uncomfortable when you see her, so you can't forgive yourself. I know, I know ...who isn't?"

Marquis Yongning's heart skipped a beat, feeling that the topic was slipping into a dangerous place, what happened to Princess Anyang, and how did he provoke the old emperor like this.

I heard the emperor say: "For so many years, the third child has a good relationship with you, because he also knows."

Lord Hou frowned: His Highness Zhuang Wang?what does he know

"He knows that you colluded with Beili Xixiu back then, broke your family and property, and planned to flee from the country," Emperor Taiming said word by word, "I would rather take the whole family into exile in Beijue Mountain and let him die in the womb than Lying on the splendor and wealth that an unborn child bought with his spirit bones."

Yongninghou's face was instantly blank.

There was a moment of silence in the warmth, save for the indifferent chatter of the steam heater and the pendulum.

After a while, Marquis Yongning moved his stiff knee and knelt down beside him slowly.

"You are the one who pierces the sky without making a sound, and now these little bastards are all shouting happily, how can it compare to your killing and decisiveness back then?" Emperor Taiming waved his hand, "Get up quickly, you have been fighting for more than 20 years!" It’s over, and if I want to pursue you, I have to wait until now? At that time... I actually wanted to let you go. Xi Zhengde, you have the guts to do things that generations of us dared to think or dare not do.”

Marquis Yongning said expressionlessly, "I'm terrified."

Emperor Taiming let out a "ha": "You really look like a nephew, your nephew was exactly the same as you are now when I pulled out his fox tail."

The dead pig of Yongning Hou was not afraid of the boiling water and calculated: Anyway, King Zhuang's wings are hardened, and Xi Ping is now under the Xuanyin Inner Sect and Siming Sect, can the old emperor still pick the autumn queen at this time to settle accounts?Even if the old emperor took the wrong medicine, he could only settle accounts with him alone. He didn't believe that the emperor dared to make a big fuss and implicate his whole family.

Since this was the case, Master Hou was no longer afraid, he didn't even bother to think of words for the perfunctory confession and sophistry, he simply obeyed the holy order and poured himself a glass of wine.

As expected, Emperor Taiming didn't blame him for being impolite, sighed lightly, and said regretfully: "It turned out that Ziyi retreated in front of the battle. Because of this, you haven't spoken to her alone for more than 20 years, right? Hey, why did you drink it by yourself?" Come on, fill me up."

Yongning Hou Yiyan poured him a cup, Emperor Taiming took it up and drank it down, and said in a low voice: "Don't blame her, she is not weak, it is just that the month is coming, and the half-immortal secret doctor in the palace told her, This child of hers is not alone, but also happens to be born with a top-level inspiration, and she is like a half-celestial being... That is not something a mortal body can bear, and if you don't take it away, I'm afraid you won't be able to keep it."

Marquis Yongning was really taken aback this time: "What?!"

"She never told you, did she?"

"Why did she..."

If it is to protect the child, then this matter must be a different matter. Is Xi Ziyi a gourd made of no mouth?

Emperor Taiming looked at him with interest: "I told you, what will happen to you?"

Hou Ye was startled for a moment, thought for a moment, and then said calmly: "It's still according to the plan. If the child can be kept, he can keep it. If he can't keep it, it's because he cast the wrong womb. A sick child in the womb can't support it. Isn't it natural. Besides. There are secret methods here, and there may not be masters who can take spirit bones in the north. When they grow up and can enter the Tao, they will be returned to him.

Emperor Taiming clapped his palms and laughed loudly: "Fleeing the country with a natural spiritual bone that is rare in thousands of people, and placing the spiritual bone to ward off evil spirits, Xi Zhengde, you are really a stinky stone in a latrine, you really have you... But Your sister is a mortal, she is worried about the old mother's dying years and exile in the wilderness, worried about what will happen if the child who doesn't know how to support her will turn into a traitor, and worried about the future of your Xi family."

Marquis Yongning didn't smile, and the feeling of uneasiness in his heart became more and more intense: Although he didn't agree with the concubine's distracting thoughts, he felt it was justifiable, blood is thicker than water, and he wasn't the uncompromising tyrant of Emperor Taiming, she Why didn't we talk about it for more than 20 years?

Something must have happened afterwards that made her regret it.

Hou Ye couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, it's unheard of for me to be born with spiritual bones and top-level inspiration in one person. May I ask Your Majesty, what will happen if such a person survives?"

Emperor Taiming said softly: "The connection between inspiration and spirit bones will be severed."

Marquis Yongning was shocked, and he accidentally knocked over the wine glass.

"Before him, none of the congenital spirit bones knew that they were the sacrifices of the Zhou family's generation, and they all thought they were just born with bad bones." The emperor said, "Only Ying... the first-class inspiration is comparable to a half-immortal, and the top-level spirit bones are like half-immortals. Inspiration, it is said that one is born with the ability to penetrate yin and yang, and to observe the energy of all things—I don’t know, Ying has never told me what the world looks like in his eyes. The spiritual bone is also "identity and mind are not separated", that is to say, for more than 20 years, his physical body has been in the human world, and half of his heart... has been suppressed under the impassable sea."

As the old emperor said, he poured himself another drink, three glasses in a row, and he drank it all in one gulp. With the smell of alcohol, he seemed to have regained a bit of his youthful spirit: "You are right, Zhengde, even if this child was procrastinating Being sick and weak, going to herd sheep at the foot of the desolate Beijue Mountain, and being wanted for the rest of his life, even if he couldn’t survive at all—it’s better than being a golden branch and jade leaf in Jinping.”

"Natural spirit bones, that's a curse handed down from our ancestors. Originally, only one came out every few hundred years, and then almost every generation has it... Do you know why?" Before the pale-faced Marquis Yongning could speak, Emperor Taiming He smiled to himself, "Because that useless brother who was born with a spiritual bone will often be selected as the next prince, and his blood is close. After being selected like this from generation to generation, the innate spiritual bone has become our gangrene... People whose spiritual bones have been picked out can only rely on the fake bones replaced by secret methods to survive their entire lives, and almost never live to their prime—my mother is just the daughter of a fifth-rank official, and the dragon chair under the cushion is my own brother's flesh."

Marquis Yongning picked up the overturned wine glass, put it heavily on the table, and said coldly: "Forgive me for being rude, Your Majesty, if a generation figured out this gangrene, it would not be passed down to this day."