"Don't, don't hurt her!"

I screamed loudly and sat up from the top of the bed, panting violently, already soaked with sweat, and my face was already wet with tears.

"Princess, princess!"

I was so depressed that I habitually poked around and fell short.

Suddenly, there was a throbbing pain in his heart, as if he had not yet woken up from Fang Cai's nightmare.

I reached out and stroked my face, which I didn't know if it was tears or sweat, trying to calm myself.

It was a dream just now, not real, not real......

Looking at the empty bedroom, after a moment of calm, I gradually regained my thoughts.

The princess should be in Yong'an Temple now, she is safe and fine.

Looking at my hands that were still trembling, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This was the first night I was separated from the princess, and I was already so miserable?

I cheered up a little, but I don't know what time it is, and I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep again for the next night.

He pulled open the futon, sat on the edge of the bed, soaked in sweat and felt very uncomfortable, groped to stand up, gave up the boots, and with the memory in his mind, accurately found the tabletop, picked up the fire, and lit the candle on the table.

In the originally dark bedroom, a warm candlelight suddenly shone brightly.

My heart suddenly warmed up.

Worried that I would catch a cold, I took out a set of dry middle clothes from the wardrobe and changed into this one, only to feel that I was also a lot more refreshed. He put on a robe and walked to the window and gently pushed it open.

Tonight the moon hid in the thick clouds and did not see the clear light, and the courtyard was quiet, and from time to time there were a few rapid insect chirps, as if to protest that someone had disturbed its good dreams.

I couldn't help but smile faintly, the time I spent with the princess was so happy that I almost forgot what it was like to be sleepless at night.

Princess, is she okay? I wonder if she slept soundly tonight?

When I think of the princess, I can't help but recall the scene in my dream, when the willow catkins stabbed the princess, and it was still in front of me.

He folded his hands on the edge of the bed, and then leaned his head on top casually, his eyes a little more tired.

Perhaps, I am a kind of unsympathetic person, I have to admit that after being with the princess, I gradually began to forget about catkins.

So, do you have dreams like that that that my sinful heart is silently reminding me of the sins I have committed?

I smiled wryly, everything is fine, I am willing to bear the sins I have committed, but don't tire her.

"Catkins, catkins ......"

I kept calling her name, the woman who was once as beautiful as fireworks, but passed away, the woman who was quiet and beautiful but few words, the woman who was beautiful but knowledgeable......

Now that I think about it, I didn't know as much about catkins as I thought I would, just as she didn't know some of my things.

For me, meeting her is as beautiful as a flower blooming quietly, and getting acquainted with her is the fate of the silver hairpin, and mutual admiration with her is the most beautiful and moving mutual attraction when I am young......

I don't know if she'll regret meeting me, but I won't regret liking her.

It was she who told me what a beautiful thing it is to like someone, even if this liking sometimes makes people humble as dust, makes people suffer from gains and losses, and makes people become naïve like children......

I just thought quietly, and my mood gradually calmed down a lot.

Speaking of which, tonight's dream should not have come out of nowhere.

Just because when I went home today and passed by the market to buy a few things, I accidentally saw a woman whose voice and back were very similar to catkins, and my first reaction was to catch up and take a look, but unfortunately I was staggered by the flow of people, and soon lost the figure of the girl in the crowd.

Maybe that's why I think about it day and dream at night.

Sighing slightly, the knock on the door outside the house became slow and solid, and Ah Zheng's voice was also transmitted in time.

"Childe, it's almost time, it's time for you to get up and get ready to go to the morning court. ”

Maybe it was because he saw the candle in my room and knew that I must have woken up, and Ah Zheng's voice was not as hurried as usual for fear that I would miss the hour.

"Okay, I got it. ”

responded to Ah Zheng's words, but I didn't expect that it would be almost time again in a trance, and it was time to prepare for the morning court.

Closed the door again, I went to get the official clothes and put them on myself, Hongyu and Ziyu have not been in the house recently, and I have to be busy with the affairs of the court, it can be said that the whole house is now relying on Ah Zheng to take care of a little qiē, now it seems that Ah Zheng, this kid can take care of the princess's mansion quite properly, and I know that the princess's mind some time ago was not in vain.

After everything was ready, I opened the door, and after Ah Zheng waited for me to wash up as before, he took the lamp for me in front, and left the princess's mansion one after another, and went to the carriage that was already waiting outside the mansion.

"Ah Zheng!"

"Yes, Childe. ”

"During the time that the princess and I were not in the princess's mansion, the mansion worked hard for you up and down. ”

"This is what Ah Zheng should do, Childe, please rest assured. ”

I was very relieved to hear this, and the two of us came to the carriage together, and after patting him on the shoulder, I got into the carriage with his help.

As soon as I opened the curtain, I found that there was already a person sitting inside, and it seemed that he had been waiting for me for a long time.

I was quite surprised, I almost lost my footing because of the sudden appearance of the person in the carriage, Ah Zheng outside seemed to see me a little strange, and looked inside, but I didn't know when, there was already a handsome young man sitting in the carriage.

"Ah, Childe be careful, stab ......"

Ah Zheng said as he was about to drag me out of the car, but I stopped him.

"She's not an assassin, it's okay, Ah Zheng, you can just drive the carriage with peace of mind. ”

Ah Zheng glanced at the handsome man with the corners of his mouth raised, and then looked at his son-in-law's calm and relaxed appearance, although he was still a little worried, but the son said that it was okay, so there should be no need to worry too much.

"Yes, Childe. ”

So saying, Ah Zhengbian lifted the curtain for me, and when I got into the carriage and sat down, he also got into the carriage, raised his whip, and urged the horse forward.

"You don't seem surprised to see me, Horse Master?"

The handsome boy opened his mouth first, staring at me curiously, as if there was something strange on my face.

"It's okay, if you were an assassin, I would probably be dead, right?"

I couldn't help but sigh a little, this is indeed true, people have been in the carriage for so long and I have not noticed it at all, if this is really an assassin, I will probably be dead.

"Do you know you're scared?

There was a bit of mockery in the tone of the handsome son.

I couldn't help frowning a little, listening to his tone, could it be that an assassin really tried to assassinate me?

Who sent them? Did Dugu believe in those people? Or was there someone else?

"You're protecting me in secret?"

I asked, a little curious.

"Yes, not quite. You have to be grateful to Her Royal Highness the Princess. ”

A sentence from a handsome man made me guess the crux of some problems.

"You're really not an ordinary young lady. ”

I couldn't help but shake my head, quite emotional.

"You're not an ordinary pony master?!"

The handsome boy also replied unceremoniously.

We both smiled.

This handsome boy is none other than Chen Yuanwai's daughter - Chen Xiaoyu.

From the day the princess returned the Huangtian seal to me, I vaguely guessed that Chen Xiaoyu might have surrendered to the princess. Chen Xiaoyu is a smart businessman, and if she wants to protect the interests of their Chen family's merchants, she naturally has to attach herself to a reliable tree, and her vision is not bad, she can actually discern people, and she chose Her Royal Highness the Princess.

"You've been waiting for me in the carriage so early, but is there anything important to tell me?"

I think it's better to make a long story short for the sake of safety, after all, Chen Xiaoyu came here to deliberately hide people's eyes and ears, just because he didn't want to be seen by superfluous people.

"There is indeed important information to tell you, first: recently, several blacksmith shops in the city that are closed on weekdays have been operating workshops in an attempt to hide people's eyes and ears when the crowd is surging, and second: an army of 1,000 people has been secretly stationed at the west gate of the capital. ”

Chen Xiaoyu's words were also simple and clear, and his words hit the nail on the head.

The blacksmith shop is hiding people's eyes and ears and operating privately, that is, it is secretly creating weapons, and the state decrees that private workshops are strictly prohibited from making weapons privately, otherwise they will be punished as treason.

Moreover, the state is strict about ores, especially iron ores, and general blacksmith shops need to go through the grade registration of the relevant government and issue an operating certificate before they can open a shop. There are also restrictions on the types of iron they cast.

Except in times of war, when the state forcibly recruits blacksmiths to cast weapons, the restrictions will be temporarily lifted.

Such a small workshop, if you secretly make weapons, the number will not be very large. It seems that there will not be too many people in the interior, but in Duguxin's style, these people should be elites.

Recently, some people in the capital are more mixed, and it is much more lively and chaotic than before, although they are all investigated according to the so-called photo post, but it is difficult to guarantee that this photo post also has the possibility of fraud, especially if the relevant officials are greedy for ink and bribes, it is easy to get into the capital.

Perhaps, this group of people has already blended into the capital.

Although this group of people is a hidden scourge, what worries me more is the presence of the army of a thousand men.

"Do you know who is under the jurisdiction of these thousand people?"

Chen Xiaoyu looked at me quietly, and then said:

"If the information is correct, they should be the defenders of Wuchuan Town, which is closer to the Beijing Division. ”

Wuchuan, one of the three major military towns, is an important bulwark against the southward movement of the northern Turks, and there is absolutely no room for mistakes, so there are often heavy troops in the military towns.

"Do you know who is leading the way?"

"It's a general named Xu Yi, who should be a personal soldier under his command. ”

As soon as I heard this, I felt that maybe things were not as bad as I imagined, after all, it was not the chief general of Wuchuan who came, and a general brought his own personal soldiers, so it is conceivable that his actions this time must be extremely concealed from the private actions of his superiors.

Although the governors of the state and towns also have military power in their hands, they do not dare to confront the court head-on, so they come to the capital one by one, so that the soldiers are stationed in their respective state towns, people do not take off their armor, horses do not leave the saddle, in addition to the will of the court is not allowed to bring troops into the city, there is also a sense of deterrence, but also let the court dare not take them lightly, once the governors in the capital have any mistakes, the thirteen state towns will probably rise up one after another, and the Northern Wei Dynasty will be in chaos.

Therefore, if Duguxin and others want to make a name for themselves in the capital, they have to transfer soldiers from outside the state town.

First, it doesn't cost you a single soldier, and second, if the matter is revealed, you can also push the charges cleanly, and don't give the court an excuse to clean up the state and town.

At present, there are only 2,000 Yulin guards guarding the capital, 1,000 of whom are guarding the imperial city, and the other 1,000 are scattered near several other gates in the capital for defense.

The Empress Dowager prayed for blessings and drew 500 people from the 2,000 Yulin guards to rush as guards, so the number of defenders in the capital was reduced by a quarter.

Once there is an abnormality in the capital, if the Yulin Guard cannot resist, it is necessary to urgently summon the nearby guards to come and escort them, and the closest guards will take seven days to catch up with the fastest speed.

Correspondingly, Dugu Xin's 1,000 men and horses have already been lurking in the depths of the woods in the west of the city, and he is ruthless when he makes the first move, it seems that the shape of the capital is more critical than imagined.

"Thank you, Xiao Chen...... The news brought by Chen Gongzi is clear to me. ”

I couldn't help but cast a grateful look at Chen Xiaoyu.

"Are you sure?"

I was silent for a moment, then smiled and said:

"If I were alone, I would have little chance of winning. ”

Chen Xiaoyu looked at me with a little surprise, as if he didn't expect such an unconfident word to come out of my mouth.

"But I'm not alone now, so no matter how dangerous the predicament, I have to do my best to overcome it!"

When Chen Xiaoyu heard this, he smiled faintly and said:

"No wonder Her Highness the Princess said that you are a fool, and it seems a bit silly. ”

At the mention of the princess, my face flushed slightly.

"If there is something that we need to help, as long as we can do it, please do not hesitate to ask, and we, the merchants, will be very happy to serve. ”

Thinking that the change should be carried out in these seven days, I thought that I would temporarily find an army to rescue the driver, but I was afraid that the far water would not be able to save the near fire, and the guards in the outer city could not be counted on, so I could only think of ideas in the capital.

"Perhaps, there is something you can do to help, well, no, it should be said that only you can help!"

My eyes suddenly lit up, causing Chen Xiaoyu to look at me curiously.

Immediately, I told her some of my thoughts and plans, and hoped that I would be able to get her help when the time came.

Chen Xiaoyu is also a cheerful person, thinking about the feasibility of this plan, and then nodded, expressing his willingness to try his best.

I saluted her with gratitude.

Seeing that he was about to reach the gate of the palace, Chen Xiaoyu immediately got up and was about to leave, just opened the curtain, suddenly turned around and said to me, saying:

"Don't braided so easily, I'm waiting to see what your scourge can make the world look like?"

After speaking, Chen Xiaoyu left with a smile.

I had a speechless expression and scratched my cheeks, although I don't like Chen Xiaoyu to use the word "scourge" to describe me, isn't there a saying that is good, the scourge will last for thousands of years!

I am a scourge, and to whom am I afraid?