"The letter, when the rebels stormed the Imperial City, was gone. ”

Pei Yuanfeng's eyes froze, and he raised his eyes to stare at me: "Who took it away?"

I said, "I want to know, too, but when the rebels entered the imperial city, it was a great chaos in the world at that time, and people's lives could not be saved, so where could they take care of one or two things." This is also what I found out after the rebels retreated, and at that time I had to track it down, but I couldn't find anything. ”

He frowned: "It was taken away by the rebels?"

"Yes. ”

"How many ways are the rebels?"

"Yunzhong Lin clan, Runan Yuan clan, Gongsun Qi, son of Gongsun Shu, Marquis of Jin, and of course Nangong Jinhong. ”

When I said this, I paused, and Pei Yuanfeng also looked up at me, although I had already told him once before, how Nangong Jinhong was to me and Chang Qing during Pei Yuanhao's serious illness and coma, and the prince pressed him step by step, and also said that he defected after that, but the real reason, I have never found a chance to sue him, and I also know that he is not without doubts in his heart.

After all, he grew up with those elder brothers, and he must know more about Pei Yuanhao and Nangong Lizhu when they were children.

So, I said: "About Nangong Jinhong and your second brother, I have something to tell you. ”

He blinked.

I said this matter very quickly, because I didn't want to stay in the past for too long, but I knew that although it had been in the past few decades, its power was enough to set off turbulent waves in the hearts of some people, and Pei Yuanfeng's face slowly turned pale.

By the time I finished speaking, after a long time, he still hadn't reflected at all.

I didn't immediately urge him to understand, and accepted what I said, just sat across from him and looked at him so calmly, I don't know how long it took for him to speak in a hoarse voice: "So-my second brother, he, he's not-"

"Yes, he's not. ”

"Then my mother...... Did she replace her daughter with my second brother and him?"

"Yes. ”

“……”

"Nangong Lizhu is her daughter, that is, your sister. ”

Pei Yuanfeng gasped again.

But this time, he didn't be silent any longer, nor was he dazed, but raised his eyes to look at me, and there was a trace of almost cruel sobriety in his eyes: "Does my father know?"

I said, "I think he must have been aware of it, so he made the edict of succession before he fell into a coma...... The name of the crown prince was not written on the edict. And his illness too—"

With that, I glanced at him and hurriedly shut my mouth.

Sometimes, although the other party seems calm, the inside is full of holes that cannot be seen by the naked eye, I should know this best, and at this time, I should not say too much.

As for the death of Empress Zhaolie, the coffin, and Pei Yuanhao's identity, the Emperor Taishang seems to be deliberately concealing it, and I don't plan to sue him directly, after all, this matter that is closely related to him, one of his mother, and the other is his second brother, suddenly became unrecognizable, and it takes too much strength for him to accept it.

I can't mess around anymore.

I said softly: "Yuanfeng, this matter should actually be sued by the Emperor Taishang, or anyone else related to it, it is better to sue you now, I don't mean anything else, I just think, you should know." ”

He looked up at me, his gaze had calmed, except for the hand on the table, clenched into a fist, his knuckles slightly white.

"I understand," he said. ”

“……”

"You made it clear to me, it's okay, it's easy to make mistakes. ”

“……”

"Thank you, lightness. ”

“……”

Hearing him say this, I really felt sad, and for a while I only felt a panic in my chest, as if an invisible black hand was pinching my heart and preventing it from beating. I was gasping slightly, but I heard his sober and calm voice ringing in my ears again: "So Nangong Jinhong, he is the second brother-" Speaking of this, he hesitated slightly, but he didn't change his words immediately, only ignored the past: "People?"

"Yes. ”

"For so many years, he has actually been dormant and is doing things for his second brother. ”

"I think so. ”

He sighed lightly and said, "Then it's no wonder that he knew so well that you were able to establish his own power in Jiangnan so accurately, and there were so many things. ”

He seems to be very sober, although what I just said made him have a momentary ups and downs in love, but he quickly got rid of that kind of love, and now he looks like he is not happy and sad, nor is there any obvious anger and sadness, but it is such a calm, but it makes people feel a kind of indescribable sadness.

I looked at him and said softly, "Yuanfeng......"

He glanced up at me, met my bewildered gaze, and said calmly, "I know what you're worried about, but now we have to deal with not the past, but the present." ”

“……”

"Let's settle the matter in front of us first, and then talk about the past. ”

“……”

Sure enough, he is a man who has fought on the battlefield.

It's not that such people won't be affected by some feelings, it's just that they can get out of that kind of love as quickly as possible, and they can figure out what they should face and what they should do the most.

In contrast, as a woman, I am indeed a little too "sad".

So I nodded, "Okay." ”

Then he said, "Continue with what you just said." Your letter is gone, and you guess who took it?"

"If you just guess like this, it is possible for any person to go all the way, and it may even be any lady in the palace, any palace maid and eunuch, but if you look at things backwards, maybe the answer will be clearer. ”

"You say. ”

"When I took the letter, I knew that I would leave the capital in a short time, and I also knew that my destination must be Xichuan, so it was possible to set up an ambush along the way. ”

Pei Yuanfeng said slowly: "Nangong Jinhong." ”

I nodded.

He continued: "He took the letter and knew that you would go back to Xichuan, so he set up an ambush along the way, so he must also know that after you return to Xichuan, you will participate in this bid for the mine." ”

"But I think he didn't have the courage to follow me all the way into Sichuan. Besides, there are Qinghan, Qingchen, and the people sent by Xishan Academy over there, if he really followed me all the way, they would have discovered it a long time ago, and it is impossible for him to follow him here. ”

Pei Yuanfeng was silent for a while and said, "What if it's not him?"

“……”

He got the letter, learned the message, and then sued the others. ”

The word "others", he accentuated a little, and it also made my heart sink suddenly, and when he raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze became more and more solemn: "Then, this matter may not have anything to do with him, but other people are following you, or—"

"But how?"

He was silent for a moment and said: "Every spring and summer, the Sanjiang Dam will open the flood gates. ”

"I know that. ”

"During that time, the boats coming and going on the river would be very chaotic, and there was no way to check it as strictly as usual. ”

“……”

"If you really want to get involved, it's possible. ”

“……”

"What do you think?"

“……”

"Could it be—he?"

At this moment, my breathing and heartbeat were a little chaotic: "I don't know ......"

Pei Yuanfeng looked at me for a while, stood up without saying a word, I raised my head and looked at him as if he was about to leave, and asked, "Where are you going?"

He had already taken a step, turned his back to me, did not look back, only said in a sullen voice, "I'll send someone around to check." ”

“……”

"If someone does sneak in, see if you can find any clues. ”

“……”

"I'll go first. ”

After speaking, he didn't say anything, and walked out of this small courtyard in a few steps.

I sat under the tree, watching his back disappear at the gate of the courtyard, I still felt a little uncomfortable in my heart, and even more depressed, Pei Yuanfeng's guess is not to confirm my guess, because before this, there seems to be such a shadow in my heart, but I don't know, will this shadow become real, a specific person.

Really, is it him?

And what I dare not think about is, what if it is really him?

Pei Yuanfeng now goes out to check, if his people really find that person nearby, how will he face this "second brother", me, how should I face him?

I can't think about it, and I can't think of it.

Many things have passed, and if you don't think about it, maybe you can just let it dust off as if it didn't happen, but if you mention it, you may not even be able to get along with your own memories.

Su Su stood beside us, accompanied us quietly, came over at this time, and said softly: "Miss, I don't understand anything else you said, but it's time for you to eat something." ”

“……”

"Otherwise, my stomach will hurt. ”

I glanced up at her, then at the missing corners of the pastries on the table, and for some reason, laughed.

I have always felt that Su Su is the simplest and most direct of all the people around me, no matter how people struggle in the red dust, but she is always the most silent, but the most down-to-earth person who walks into her own life, even at this time, she is doing this.

So, I picked up a piece of pastry and took a bite.

I still didn't have much appetite, and the taste was the same as chewing wax, so I still reluctantly ate half of it myself, but it was a little difficult to swallow, so I picked up the teacup and asked for water.

Su Su suddenly said, "Where did this cup of tea come from?"

I choked on half a piece of pastry in my throat and said chaotically, "Let them send it." ”

"Didn't I say it, something I haven't tried, you can't use it, Miss!"

As she spoke, she snatched it from my hand, I couldn't laugh or cry, I had already drunk it just now, where did I need her to try it for me.

But it was too late to stop, so she took a sip of the teacup.

Probably because she was in a hurry, she basically drank half a cup in that sip, and she couldn't swallow it well, and it took half a day to choke.

I looked at her and smiled, "It's okay, can you give it to me now?"

She blinked, still a little "still angry", and handed me the teacup as she said, "I said, I haven't tried—"

At this point, she stopped abruptly.

I watched as her eyes turned black all of a sudden, and as soon as she let go of her hand, the teacup fell down and shattered on the ground with a "clang".