The surprise in the heart of the old marquis of Yuwen was no less than that of Yuwen Chengchao.

The white shopkeeper sat on the west seat, bowed his hand to the old marquis, smiled, and did not speak.

"Jing Zhai, you are really hidden." The old marquis said calmly: "You have been in the Yuwen family for twenty-one years, and the old man never thought that you would be a member of the Fan family. ”

The white shopkeeper sighed: "The Bai family in Tai'an has always been greatly favored by the Yuwen family, I befriended the Hou Ye when I was young, and I also got the respect of the Hou Ye to run errands for the Yuwen family." After a pause, he said calmly: "If it weren't for the Wutuo people who broke through the barrier sixteen years ago, I would have been the pawn of the Hou Ye in this life." ”

The old marquis let out an "oh", and his face showed a hint of disdain.

"I remember that I rushed back to Xiling from outside the customs at that time, and suggested to the Hou Ye that we must quickly gather the strength of the major families in Xiling, strengthen the city defense, hoard grain and grass, and recruit soldiers as quickly as possible, fully support the capital protection army, and strengthen Xiling's defense." The white shopkeeper looked at the old marquis and said, "If I remember correctly, there was still half a year before the Wutuo people entered the customs at that time. Time is indeed very short, but if it is mobilized immediately, half a year is enough to make some necessary preparations, such as letting the people of Fan County move eastward quickly, if this is really done, many people will not become ghosts under the sword of the Vedas. ”

The old marquis snorted coldly and said: "Wutuo 100,000 iron cavalry, the Tang army was already at war with southern Xinjiang at that time, and the Tusun people had also gone south, and there was no support in the pass, relying on the thousands of men and horses of the Duhu army, even if we paid for it, what was the use?" ”

"In the Wutuo Rebellion, Xiling was tragically poisoned, and countless people died under the swords of the Wutuo people." The white shopkeeper said slowly: "Before the Vedic people entered the customs, I had already opened up trade outside the customs for the Yuwen family, and I also met many Vedic nobles outside the customs. I learned in advance about the plan of the Vedic people to go east, and immediately reported it to Hou Ye, who should still remember it. ”

The old marquis said: "So what? ”

"The imperial court is unable to support Xiling, and the people of Xiling should protect Xiling by themselves." The white shopkeeper said slowly: "But not only did you reject the suggestion of the people to move eastward, but you were also worried that Xiling would fall into chaos, and even concealed the news that the Wutuo people were going to attack Xiling. For half a year, you didn't do anything, until the Wutuo people came over, and the army was fighting to the death in Heiyang City, lacking soldiers and food, you were still indifferent, Hou Ye, I know that at that time you thought that the Tang army would be defeated, and planned to make peace with the Wutuo people, but at that time, did you think about thousands of Xiling people? ”

The old marquis looked at the white shopkeeper and sneered: "Because you resented me for not following your advice back then, so you took refuge in the Fan family?" Glancing at Fan Ziqi, he said lightly: "Don't forget, Fan back then."

"Now that it's happened, why should Master Hou hide it?" The white shopkeeper sighed lightly: "The three major gate valves secretly discussed, if I am not mistaken, the Fan family begged at that time to evacuate all the people on the side of Fan County to the east, and then recruit strong men to strengthen Heiyang City, so that the major families can pay for grain storage and hoarding in Heiyang City." In half a year, if you really go all out, with the financial resources of the major families in Xiling, you can naturally build Heiyang City into a strong city, and it is not difficult to recruit one or two thousand strong men, so that when the Du Protector is stationed in Heiyang City, not only will there be a strong city to defend, but also there will be enough food in the city, and there will be 20,000 strong men to assist, plus the Wutuo people are not good at attacking the city, and it may not be impossible to defend it for a year and a half. ”

The corners of the old marquis's eyes jumped slightly, and he didn't speak.

"For more than ten years, I have been in the Woods, watching them grow stronger day by day, and my heart is anxious." The white shopkeeper said: "Looking back at Xiling, the Xiling family is like a leech attached to this land, greedily absorbing Xiling's blood, making this land weaker and weaker. Shaking his head and smiling bitterly: "Compared to sixteen years ago, Xiling is getting weaker and weaker. Gazing at the old Marquis of Yuwen, he said calmly: "Lord Hou, the biggest enemy of Xiling has never been a foreign race, it is precisely these wealthy families in Xiling. ”

The corners of Old Marquis Yuwen's eyes twitched, and he finally said, "So you secretly colluded with the Fan family?" ”

At the critical moment, with the prepared family wealth, he secretly fled, hid in Turtle City, and left the people on the other side of Zhen County, do you think the Fan family is doing better than the Yuwen family? ”

Fan Ziqi smiled bitterly: "I didn't have the courage to do the right thing back then, and when I returned to Zhen County after the war, I was full of devastation, and I realized how much of a mistake I made." When a person makes a mistake, he always has to make up for it. ”

If the white shopkeeper is a member of the imperial court, then appearing here tonight will not only appear with the Fan family, but also the power of the imperial court behind him.

The plan to exterminate the Zhen family began with those two secret letters.

"Master Hou thinks I'm taking refuge in the Fan family?" The white shopkeeper shook his head and said: "Master Hou is wrong, I am just loyal to Datang, the real Datang!" ”

"You..... Are you from the imperial court? Old Marquis Yuwen was even more surprised in his heart.

Even from a certain point of view, if there is no white shopkeeper, the Yuwen family may not act rashly.

The old Marquis of Yuwen's face was grim, and at this time he finally understood that the so-called opportunity of the Yuwen family was just a means of use by the white shopkeeper, and the Yuwen family had actually become a tool for the imperial court to exterminate the Zhen family.

The two secret letters proved that the Zhen family defected to the enemy and treason, and the old marquis saw this opportunity and discussed with the white shopkeeper to use this opportunity to exterminate the Zhen family for the imperial court, so as to get the Yuwen family out of the crisis.

In this plan, the white shopkeeper participated in it from beginning to end.

The white shopkeeper smiled faintly and said, "Why is the old marquis so sure that he must be a traitor who he has eliminated?" Whether the Zhen family is loyal or traitorous only depends on whether the two secret letters are true or false, according to the Hou Ye's opinion, are those two secret letters true or false? ”

Old Marquis Yuwen's pupils contracted slightly.

Fan Ziqi finally said: "Brother, do you understand now that you think you are the one who controls the chess game, but you have just entered the chess game and become a chess piece in the chess game. ”

"Even if it is reduced to a pawn, it is a pawn of the imperial court." The old marquis said solemnly: "The Yuwen family is a traitor to the imperial court, what is wrong?" ”

He has realized that there is a big flaw in his painstaking plan, and this flaw is the white shopkeeper.

"These two secret letters were found from the underground secret chamber of the beggar man." The white shopkeeper said: "The people who found these two secret letters are Qin Xiao and Tang Rong. Picked up the teapot and poured himself a cup of tea, before he said slowly: "Yes."

"I know Master Hou's thoughts." The white shopkeeper sighed: "When the eldest prince presented the two secret letters to you, you no longer cared whether the secret letters were true or not, as long as you used this as evidence to get rid of the Zhen family, you thought that the imperial court would definitely believe that the evidence was true at that time, but ..... The truth of the secret letter can only be decided by me. ”

Old Marquis Yuwen's heart sank.

"Although Tang Rong is my daughter-in-law, there is another master behind her." The white shopkeeper said: "I can't be sure who that person is, but if the expectation is good, it must be someone from the imperial court, so Tang Rong will inform the master behind the scenes of the truth of the secret letter, and the master behind the scenes is also likely to inform the court about the secret letter." Looking at the old marquis, he said: "So the confession of this first witness must be very unfavorable to the Yuwen family." ”

Old Marquis Yuwen tried his best to appear calm, but his hand to take the teacup was already trembling slightly, not just because of fear but also because of anger.

To prove the authenticity of these two secret letters, the confessions of the two of them and my testimony can be made clear to the imperial court. ”

Fan Ziqi said: "Brother, I just said that if the secret letter is true, the imperial court will naturally regard the Yuwen family as a great hero, but if the secret letter is fake, the Yuwen family kills innocents indiscriminately, and it is also the marquis of the imperial court, then the Yuwen family will naturally be in trouble." ”

The old marquis of Yuwen was furious, and said sharply: "Bai Jingzhai, you ......!" Coughing violently, Fan Ziqi had already gotten up and came over and stroked the back of the old Marquis Yuwen.

"As for the third witness, Qin Xiao, I know that he is good friends with the eldest prince." The white shopkeeper said slowly: "But compared to the eldest prince, there is still someone in this world who he cares more about, that person has a life-saving grace for him, and treats him like a son, that person can spare his life for him, and Qin Xiao can also spare his life for that person, they are real friends of life and death." After a pause, he looked at Yuwen Chengchao over to this side, vaguely saw Qin Xiao beside Yuwen Chengchao, and sighed lightly: "So as long as that person comes forward, he will not protect Yuwen Family, but will only tell the truth of the matter." Tang Rong did not hide the fact that the secret letter was forged from Qin Xiao, and Qin Xiao knew the truth, he had a life-and-death enmity with the Zhen family, so this time he also used the hands of the Yuwen family to eradicate the Zhen family. ”

"The second witness is myself." The white shopkeeper said: "Since I am loyal to the imperial court, I naturally will not hide it from the imperial court." I forged those two secret letters with my own hands, and then asked Tang Rong to find an opportunity to put them in the underground secret room of Qifu Shan, the purpose of which was naturally to frame the Zhen family for treason. He said very calmly, the old marquis glanced at him, and said lightly: "It turns out that it was really your hands and feet, since you admit it, it would be good, if the court wants to investigate the authenticity of the secret letter, you forged the secret letter, and it will be difficult to escape its crime." ”

"Hou Ye forgot, the world knows that I am Hou Ye's henchman." The white shopkeeper sighed: "For the sake of the Yuwen family, I have stayed in Wutuo for nearly twenty years, and I also sent a pair of legs to the Yuwen family for this purpose. If I am not wrong, in the file of the Purple Cloth Supervisor, I will definitely be recorded as the number one lackey of the Yuwen family, and I must also be the henchman of the Hou Ye. If I confess that it was Master Hou who asked me to forge a secret letter to frame the Zhen family, and find this opportunity to exterminate the Zhen family and please the court, I believe no one will doubt it. ”

The old Marquis of Yuwen breathed slightly, and the white shopkeeper said: "As long as the confessions of the three of us are known by the imperial court, the Yuwen family will become the culprit in the massacre of the Changxin Hou Zhen family, no matter what the motive is, such a big crime is enough to make the Yuwen family suffer a catastrophe." ”

The old marquis of Yuwen stared at the eyes of the white shopkeeper, his body trembled slightly, and suddenly his throat made a "grunt" sound, and then with a "poof", a mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, sprinkled on the table, and a lot of it was splashed on the white shopkeeper's clothes.

The white shopkeeper did not move, but just looked at the old marquis of Yuwen calmly, as immobile as a mountain.