In the early morning of June 24, a convoy of chariots and horses set out from the inner city of Luojing, went out of the west gate, and trampled on the horses' hooves, heading towards the western suburbs of Luojing.

Looking back at the Great Ci'en Temple not far behind, the two officials of the Ministry of Rites who walked together exchanged glances, and their expressions were a little solemn. They all thought of the bloody case a few days ago and Zhou Zhe, who died unlucky in the assassination, and it turned out that their top boss Zhou Xian was guarding his son's body in the temple.

The two colleagues had a wave in their hearts, but they didn't dare to speak/talk, because they were just junior officials in the six-rank green-robed junior officer in the mixed team, with the internal prison guards serving by the emperor's side in front, and the female imperial physician from the palace sitting in the two oil-walled trolleys behind, with a rank of six or seven out of ten above them.

The group composed of the outer court and the inner court was ordered by the Son of Heaven to visit another famous lady who was unlucky.

Sixteen-year-old Xiao Wan, the eldest daughter of Xiao Rui, the current Duke of Jingguo, is a candidate for the much-anticipated princess. On the day of King Liang's assassination, she also coincidentally offered incense at the Great Ci'en Temple.

Long live the reign of the pole for thirty-three years. When the emperor was ten years old, he was supported by his mother-in-law, Empress Wuzong Xiaociren, to ascend the throne. And Empress Xiaociren is the aunt of Xiao Rui, the Duke of Jingguo. When the Son of Heaven got married, the Queen Mother insisted that the daughter of the Xiao family be selected, but now she is benevolent and filial and insists on marrying Xiao Rui's eldest sister. After that, the emperor and the queen, the son of Xiao Hou, sealed the East Palace as soon as he landed, and changed the yuan to "Showa" to celebrate.

It's just that after the Queen Mother died in the sixth year of Showa and changed to Yongde the following year, the luck of the Xiao family gradually declined. First of all, the prince born to Empress Xiao died in the third year of Yongde, and then in the seventh year of Yongde, the middle palace of Empress Xiao, who thought that he could give birth to the next little prince, died in childbirth, and was respected as the Empress of Ming Zhao, and moved into the mausoleum two years ago.

After the collapse of Empress Xiao, the middle palace was empty, and after the court deposed a few officials who asked for a new queen, no one mentioned the matter of the posterior.

The daughter of the Xiao family has served two terms in the middle palace, and the saint is not fading, so that there are still rumors in the market now, saying that when Empress Xiao passed away, he promised to let the next emperor marry the daughter of the Xiao family again.

It is not necessarily groundless, and it may not be without cause. Although the folk statement about the inheritance of the imperial throne is a bit perverse and rude, the daughter of the Xiao family should be able to be the royal wife again, and there is also a consensus among the noble ministers. But such a noble lady was also killed by the pond fish on June 15, and was seriously injured in the process of panicking and evading.

This time, the team composed of Lala from the Inner Palace to the Outer Dynasty went to the door of Jingguo Gong's house again, but it was just to cancel Xiao Wan's candidacy after the final examination of the injury.

The Xiao family, who had two queens, finally missed the position of the princess, which made many powerful families who sat on the wall and watched secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

As early as March and April last year, as soon as he heard the news of the prince's choice of concubines, Xiao Rui, the prince of Jingguo, who took the initiative to send his daughter from Yunzhou to Beijing, was angry.

On June 15, as soon as Xiao Rui learned that his daughter had an accident, he took his servants to make a fuss in front of Luojing Jingzhao Mansion and the yamen of various ministries, and then broke into the internal ban and beat Bixia on the ground to see Bixia crying bitterly, and then under the persuasion of the Son of Heaven, he took a group of children to live in the Yusui Garden in the western suburbs of Luojing.

Jingguo Mansion, rest with the country. The Jade Spike Garden was originally given to the Xiao family by the ancestor of the Chen Dynasty, and six generations of emperors have also continuously given the surrounding mountains and valleys. At the time of the peak prosperity of the Jingguo Mansion, the second generation of the Jingguo Gong relied on the mountain and Linluoshui, built the platform and dug the ground with the terrain, the pavilions and pavilions, the ponds and swamps were blue and blue, and the jade spike garden that occupied several hills was built like the heavenly palace Qiongyu.

Only because the first generation of Jingguo Gong took the oath of the Xiao family to guard the border for the country, the men of the Xiao family have been lost from generation to generation in the majority of the Youyan border, and after the rebellion of the king thirty-three years ago, the old Jingguo Gong left only two grandchildren under his knees, the ten-year-old Empress Xiao and the two-year-old Xiao Rui, the lack of maintenance of the Jade Suiyuan has gradually fallen into depression since then.

A group of people led by Lu Zheng, the chief eunuch who was used by the emperor's side, went to the main courtyard first, and met Jing Guogong, who didn't know if he was sick or angry, but he had been lying on the couch and refused to get up anyway.

After three or two clicks, Xiao Rui unkindly sent all the people to his eldest son, Xiao Ze, who was only fourteen years old, to entertain them. When he was upside down, he called a few beautiful concubines from Xinna after entering Beijing into the house to serve, and in front of the eldest son and the guests who had not yet gone out, he had already begun to put his hands up and down, showing a look of urgency.

Some young officials were indignant at Jing Guogong's slow treatment and insults, but the older ones were secretly happy from the bottom of their hearts. Relying on the favor of the emperor's brother-in-law, Xiao Rui has been domineering since he was a child, and when he cleaned up a few scholars who were said to be talking about the Empress of Filial Piety and Benevolence behind his back in the first year of Yongde, he almost lost his life, if he was not protected by the eldest sister of the queen and moved to Yunzhou, I don't know how many disasters would have caused in Beijing.

A few days ago, the eldest lady of the Xiao family was injured, and the father only lost some things in the smashing and injured some junior officials, and Xiao Rui, who was already mixed up to thirty-five or sixteen, had a good temper.

According to Xiao Ze, the injured sister Xiao Wan was so sad that she lived in Meiwu, which is halfway up Luoxia Mountain.

Luoxia Mountain was already on the edge of the Jade Harvest Garden, and a little further, it turned back to the boundary near the Great Ci'en Temple.

In the end, it didn't work, and the difference between pulling it out was forced to be pulled back in two. Luo Jinglai had to say goodbye to Jingguo Gong again, followed the smiling Xiao Ze out of the main courtyard, and then tossed back up.

"Is this the little Xijian of the old Jingguo Gongtun soldiers?" Let's go, Lu Zheng, an internal official who is fifty years old, reined in the reins of his horse on a wasteland, looked at a barren grass and was sad.

Lu Zheng has followed the emperor since he was a child, and he has personally experienced the difficulty of getting the throne today, if it weren't for the fact that Jing Guogong protected the mother and son who escaped from the palace and returned to Luojing, Lu Zheng, the chief manager of the inner house, would have become a pile of dry bones in this deserted suburb.

"The whole family is in Yunzhou, and no one takes care of it!" , Xiao Ze on the side responded casually, carelessly.

Lu Zheng narrowed his old eyes and looked at the young man in front of him seriously.

The prince of Jingguo under the sun inherited the good skin of the Xiao family, and when he saw Lu Zheng looking at him, he straightened up like a green bamboo, and raised his face with a little arrogance.

A jade crown was loosely buttoned with black hair, with bright eyebrows, and smiling red lips showing a mouthful of white jade-like teeth. It's like the eldest sister who was so tired that the queen often shed tears, and then the emperor's brother-in-law was helpless to persuade him, and then helped Xiao Rui, the young Jingguo Gong who cleaned up the mess.

Even words and deeds are like ten out of ten hangers. Lu Zheng chatted with Xiao Ze while observing the future Jingguo Gong.

Suddenly, a burst of smoke and dust burst out of the barren grass on the side of the road, and with the sound of shouts one after another, a large number of figures in the distance quickly rushed over.

Because of the assassination incident in the Great Mercy and Grace Temple not long ago, the people on the road were tense, and several guards had turned over and dismounted, their hands clasped on the knife rings.

"It's okay, it's okay!" , Xiao Ze took a closer look and hurriedly shook his hand at the guests.

But when the smoke and dust from the barren meadow faded, it was clear that there were only seven or eight children chasing a poor herd of goats, followed by thirty or forty sturdy servants.

Among the children from seven or eight years old to thirteen or fourteen, one of them was the most conspicuous, shirtless, with a calf nose and trousers, and a black skin like brocade and satin exposed, and the crystal sweat particles on it reflected the broken gold of the sun.

I saw the black-skinned boy, flying to a tall black goat, holding the sheep's back with his hands, and riding up with both feet, and then twisting the two sharp horns with both hands, and the sheep fell to the ground in pain, bleating.

"This is the third son, Xiao Yuan, right?" , Lu Zheng's memory is not bad, the black-skinned boy in front of him went to his clothes, and he still recognized him as the third son of the Xiao family who met Xiao Rui in the palace in the first month.

When Luo Jing came to the neutral, there was a chorus of echoing Lu Zheng, some praised Lu Zheng's eyes, and more importantly, he praised Xiao Yuan, who was catching sheep, with the style of an ancestor.

Xiao Ze, who was originally smiling, couldn't hold back in the praise of others for his younger brother, and his face turned into jealousy, and he roared loudly at the wasteland, "Xiao Yuan, what are you doing!" ”

A few children who were playing had a good time stopped, found the eldest brother who was immediately on the side of the road and the visitors beside him, quickly tidied up, and walked forward.

The children who were originally making a mess, in front of the guests, were still clearly divided into two piles of the main cluster, with the three Xiao family children in front and the rest in the back.

The three members of the Xiao family either crookedly or in a proper manner gave everyone a salute.

"Third son, what are you doing here?" , Lu Zheng smiled, and repeated Xiao Ze's question just now, and his gaze on Xiao Yuan, the third son of the eleven-year-old Jing Guogong, made Xiao Ze even more frightened, and his handsome face turned a faint red of anger.

Xiao Yuan, who was sweating profusely, pulled his clothes from the hands of a servant behind him without being polite, borrowed the hem of the clothes to block it, and stabbed the other child's waist and eye with his fingers, and pushed the similarly sized brother to the front with his natural strength.

He stepped forward crookedly, and the one who was protected by the guards was Xiao Zhan, the fourth son of the Xiao family, who was only half a year younger than Xiao Yuan. He has a handsome face, his eyebrows are slanted, his black and white eyes are purring, his figure has just stood firm, and his outstretched fingers are pointing to the smaller one next to him, "It's Xiao Liu, it's Xiao Liu who wants sheep, so we helped him catch it!"

"Sixth son, what do you want sheep to do?" , Lu Zheng, who was determined to break the casserole and ask to the end, landed his well-maintained slender fingers on the shoulders of another Xiao Jiazi who was pointed out.

Under Eunuch Lu's long armor, Xiao Hong, who was less than nine years old, bit his lip shyly.

What does Xiaoliu want sheep to do? Xiao Yuan and Xiao Zhan, who were about the same age, were afraid that the matter of passing the buck to each other would be worn by the sixth brother, but they didn't dare to say anything anymore, so they had to hold back each other's strength under the burning gaze of the eldest brother, and secretly stepped on each other's feet.

"Hong'er wants to draw sheep, and the brothers will help catch sheep." , Xiao Hong's voice sounded timidly.

Like the voice, Xiao Hong's delicate skin is even whiter and transparent in the sun, his eyebrows are picturesque, delicate and beautiful, and his eyes are clear and transparent.

"The sixth prince is very much like the queen mother." A trace of sadness flashed on Lu Zheng's face, and his smile at Xiao Hong was even more amiable, and he clenched one of his small hands tightly in his hand, "What does the sixth prince want to paint?"

"I want to draw a picture of a kneeling sheep!" , Xiao Hongnuo's voice responded quietly.

"Kneeling sheep picture song, does the sixth prince know?"

"You know, Hong'er can still carry it...... The parents leaned against the window, looking forward to the news of their children, and their parents were old......"

Lu Zheng asked a guard to bring the clumsy and cute Xiao family Xiaoliu to the horse, and he pulled the horse closer, asking and answering, and the words were close, like a pair of grandchildren on an outing and mountaineering.

Xiao Ze turned around and glanced at the two younger brothers who had betrayed his younger brother, and followed without saying a word.

In the hint that the eldest brother would be counted later, the third and fourth elders of the Xiao family breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ran in the opposite direction.

"Xiao Zhan, the sheep I caught is a male, right?" , After running a long way in the wasteland, the black-skinned boy who realized it later stopped, frowned, and asked his younger brother seriously.

Xiao Zhan shrugged his shoulders irresponsibly, "Whatever!" Let Xiaoliu go on his own! Anyway, among the children who came to Luojing with their father, Xiao Hong is the youngest, and he has been used to the black pot for more than a year!

Xiao Yuan thought about it, and he was also happy, running faster on the wasteland, and he left his younger brother far away in one fell swoop.