Yu Yun disguised himself a little, then boarded an inconspicuous ox cart, and drove low-key in the dark curtain of Xiangyang, looking at the sparse pedestrians outside the car, Yu Yun sighed lightly.

Tomorrow is the Shangyuan Festival, which is a festival as early as the Qin Dynasty, to the Han Wen Emperor is valued, some say that the Han Wen Emperor is to commemorate the 'Pinglu' and set up, and some people say that the Shangyuan Festival is the birthday of Li Er, the ancestor of Taoism. However, the Tang Dynasty apparently believed in the latter.

It is only because Li Yuan, in order to improve the legitimacy and prestige of the Li family, with the help of the people's awe of Li Er, regard himself as a descendant of Li Er, so that the people can respect him and let him rightfully ascend to the emperor's throne. As a 'filial son and grandson', he should spare no effort to celebrate the birthday of his "ancestor", so every year at the Yuan Dynasty meeting, Li Yuan's first decree is to let all parts of the world cancel the curfew on the day of the Shangyuan Festival, so that the people can have fun all night long, and in the imperial capital, the curfew is canceled for three days. After Li Yuan's promotion, the Shangyuan Festival has also become a more lively festival than Chinese New Year's Eve, especially the imperial capital has become a city full of lanterns that never sleeps, rolling crowds, and never disperses all night.

In the past, Xiangyang should have been lively tonight, but on the streets, except for the official lanterns hanging on the trees, almost no one watched the lanterns, and even if a few people appeared, it was in a hurry, giving people a sense of anxiety.

Yu Yun knew that this was the consequence of Wu Chuan's scourge of the imperial capital; Although the Sui army is also about to move, but the Sui army has little influence on the imperial capital, because the people have been war-torn and have long learned to make fun in hardship.

Today's Xiangyang has been made by Wuchuan soldiers, and the grass and trees are all soldiers, and a dignified court has to disguise itself when a high-ranking official from the third rank goes out at night, how dare the people come out?

Thinking of this, Yu Yun sighed.

After traveling for almost an hour, the ox cart stopped, and the guard, disguised as a coachman, got out of the car and said softly respectfully: "Master, the Xiaoxiang Pavilion has arrived." ”

"Got it!"

Yu Yun got out of the car, presented in front of him is an elegant attic, to be precise, it is several attics connected by a long corridor, the flowers and trees of the Xiaoxiang Pavilion are full of lanterns, the plum blossoms on the roadside are blooming, the petals fall sporadically on the winding path, and the steps are full of plum snow and cold fragrance.

"Those who can afford to open such a Qinlou Chu Pavilion must be a person with a lot of background." Yu Yun was amazed, with his eyesight, he naturally saw that there were some precious tree species planted here, even the gauze tents on the corridors of doors and windows, and the servants and maids standing were not worthy of ordinary rich and noble families, he looked at them a few times and stepped into the deep courtyard.

A handsome-looking maid stepped forward, fluttered and asked, "Is the envoy listening to the music or looking for someone?" ”

"I have an appointment with Wen Huaigongzi, where is he?" Wen Huai is naturally Dugu Huaien's pseudonym, although he is a prodigal and unruly person, and it is even more common to go in and out of the Qinglou, but his father has only been dead for a few days, even if he has the courage to make an appointment with his real name, otherwise he will have to be drowned in saliva.

"Please bring the envoy and the slave." The maid leads the way.

Yu Yun slowly followed.

Along the way, he met several beautiful women, they were thinly powdered, fresh and moving, giving people a quiet and dignified feeling, without the atmosphere of ordinary Qinglou women, but like a well-read lady.

Yu Yun had already heard that the name of Xiaoxiang Pavilion was famous, but he didn't believe it in the past, and always thought that Qinglou was a place to buy and sell skin and meat, where could it be noble? But after seeing it with his own eyes, he really believed it. Can be praised by the dignitaries and nobles in the city, and there are so many beautiful and dignified women, the owner of this hall must have an extraordinary background, if it is not for the outstanding wrists, and there is a big backer, how to keep the Xiaoxiang Pavilion of the day into the gold?

He heard that the owner of the Xiaoxiang Pavilion was a woman, because Wang Shichong and Li Mi were fighting endlessly, so they avoided Xiangyang, and the late Yang Su, Yang Xuangan father and son seemed to have a certain relationship, she had strong financial resources, and she was good at dancing with long sleeves, so she quickly gained a firm foothold in Xiangyang. Xiaoxiang Pavilion is famous for its elegant things such as piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, never runs the meat business, it is like a clear stream in many green buildings, and it happens to be in line with the character of the officials and nobles, the number of women here is not much, only more than 50, they are all fine and complete in calligraphy and painting, poetry and songs, and the women of Xiaoxiang Pavilion take the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting 'four gentlemen' as the most, and many rich sons are proud to see them, as the capital of self-praise. Therefore, even if the Xiaoxiang Pavilion is huge, it is still sought after by dignitaries.

However, the Xiaoxiang Pavilion is closed for two days every seven days, and the daily operation time will not exceed the child hour, which is a strange behavior that violates the way of doing business, but there are many people waiting to spend a lot of money.

Yu Yun followed the maid around a few winding corridors and came to a courtyard planted with many plum trees, the maid stopped in front of a warm pavilion and said, "Envoy, Prince Wen Huai is inside, please." ”

Yu Yun took off his feet and pushed the door in, Rao is Yu Yun is a member of the Yu family, and he is well-informed, but he is also speechless when he gets inside.

There is a thick blanket on the ground, which looks like a thing from the Western Regions, and sets off the carved window lattices and rosewood tables and chairs, making the color of this small building harmonious, and the gorgeous screen and the large brazier that is burning vigorously are adding a warm atmosphere.

Behind the curtain, there was a burst of hearty laughter, and listening to it, it was Dugu Huaien.

Yu Yun bypassed the curtain and sat down in front of Dugu Huaien, "The place you are looking for let me run most of Xiangyang City." ”

Listening to the familiar voice, the middle-aged man who was watching the dance music on the reclining couch sat up straight, smiled wildly and said, "You really want to thank me, if I hadn't asked you to come here, do you think you dare to come?" ”

"Don't dare!" Yu Yun smiled bitterly when she heard this, the women of the Dugu clan are almost the same, unlike the five women surnamed Kanto who don't ask about their husbands and bury their heads in the backyard, they will take the initiative to participate in their husbands' careers, and try their best to improve their husbands' status, they can share weal and woe with their husbands, live and die, and dare to cut people on the battlefield with knives, and when they get to the house, they will become gentle wives by the pillow and hostesses who run the house, but the daughters of the Dugu family are very strict with their husbands in terms of women, and once they touch this bottom line, they will all become tigresses. Yang Jian was a dignified emperor, and was made to run away from home by Queen Dugu, if it weren't for the hard persuasion of the civil and military ministers, they would all become monks. This may be a matter of bloodline, or it may be the embodiment of the different family styles and family education of the military and military Guanlong, poetry and books Kanto.

Yu Yun casually poured himself a glass of wine, sniffed the wine, drank it all, and said, "Why are you looking for me to come here?" ”

Dugu Huaien waved his hand to make the dancers retreat, and said in a low voice: "I came to you in the hope that you would rebel against me. ”

Dugu Huaien said it very bluntly, and he cut to the point at once.

Yu Yun squirted out a sip of wine, hurriedly wiped the wine stains off his clothes, and then glared at Dugu Huaien, and said angrily: "You deliberately made me ugly, right?" ”

"I decided to oppose Tang, I really didn't lie to you." Dugu Huaien emphasized.

Yu Yun glared at him for a while, and seeing that he didn't look like pretending, he said in a deep voice: "Is it your personal meaning?" ”

"Can I do it alone?" Although Dugu Huaien did not answer, he had actually indicated that this was what Dugu meant.

"Give me a reason, no, give me an explanation."

"With the expansion of the army, the emperor lacks everything, he needs money and food to feed the army, he needs land to reward military merits, and he needs the population to expand the army. Where does the emperor need? In the hands of our Guanlong nobles, as long as we are all killed, he will get countless amounts of money, grain and land to replenish the army, expand the supply of soldiers, and raise soldiers with high salaries...... The emperor is a person who will not be satisfied, and the destruction of the Buddha and the worship of the Tao have made him taste the sweetness, and the time to attack us is not far off. Even if we don't want to be his enemy, he won't let us go easily, and we can't wait for death. ”

Dugu Huaien's heartfelt words, Yu Yun could see his sincerity at a glance, this was indeed not a lie, but he did not rush to express his position, but asked: "Do you think it is possible?" ”

"Of course it's possible." Dugu Huaien snorted coldly: "This person is good at disguise, always pretending to be very kind, but in fact he is insidious and vicious, and unkind. In order to stabilize his throne, even his sons were used, and in order to control his sons' finger contamination of military power and reflect his unique position in the army, he deployed to the map and required the generals in front to follow every step. Soldier Sun Wu mentioned more than 1,000 years ago that 'soldiers are impermanent, and water is impermanent', pointing out that the battlefield is changing rapidly, and it is necessary to take corresponding countermeasures according to the changes in the enemy's situation. The root cause is that he is worried that he will lose control of the army, and the power of the army is his counter-scale, and whoever moves will die, even if his sons are no exception. ”

"Every time we are defeated, we come to exploit us, we didn't have a choice before, so we let him cut the flesh and bleed with a knife, if you see a glimmer of hope, it's just that, the key is that there is no hope at all. For the sake of the family's future, what's wrong with everyone sending someone to Luoyang? But this made him suspicious again, and after killing all of us, he slept soundly, had money and food, and could send a large army to his death. ”

From Dugu Huaien's words, Yu Yun understood that the root of the problem was that 'the family's move of sending people to Luoyang angered the emperor', and as for other reasons, they were just paving the way for this core point.

His brother-in-law seems to be resolute and upright, but in fact, the city government is unpredictable and cunning like a fox. This can be seen from deliberately blurring and downplaying the role played by the Dugu family, if it is in the name of the family, it is fine, if he is just doing it alone, but he catches up with a clan, it will be a big loss.

Yu Yun knew that Dugu Huaien must have more schemes, but he didn't know what his specific plans were, he didn't want to be involved, and he didn't want to be used as a gunman by Dugu Huaien, so he said: "Are you serious? This accident, it's not just you alone, but the entire Dugu clan. ”

"I may not die if I take risks, but if I don't, I will definitely die." Dugu Huaien glanced at Yu Yun with heavy eyes, raised the wine jug and filled it for him, and continued: "The path that the emperor is going to take now is exactly the same as Yang Tong, that is, to fight the local tyrants and divide the land, so that the people can have land and land without panic. ”

Yu Yun pondered for a while, and then asked, "You should be looking for more than me, right?" Anyone else, can you talk about it? ”

"The head of the Dugu faction, I have almost a lot, and I have found them all."

"How's it going?"

"They have gained very little, and they still have hope for this dying dynasty."

Yu Yun smiled indifferently: "This means that you can't work?" I advise you not to meddle in the Sui and Tang Dynasty disputes, so that you will die, and those who know the times are Junjie. ”

Dugu Huaien laughed out loud, shook his head and said, "Junjie? I only see a herd of lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and my brother-in-law can't be like that, right? ”

"I have nothing to do with the Sui and Tang dynasties, I don't dare to risk the lives of the whole clan!"

"Then why did the brother-in-law mobilize people in Fangling Manor?" Dugu Huaien said seemingly unintentionally.

Yu Yun said: "In order to leave a way out for yourself, lest the city of Xiangyang be broken and your family will be separated in the war. ”

Dugu Huaien didn't even raise his eyelids and said: "Can you use more than 2,000 armor soldiers, more than 300 sets of heavy armor and more than 200 strong crossbows for self-protection?" ”

Yu Yun was like a frightened leopard, the evil aura was quietly filled, two sharp eyes were fixed on Dugu Huaien's body, and he asked in a deep voice: "That manor was newly purchased by me, and everyone in the family didn't know about it, how did you know?" ”

"It doesn't matter how I know, it's the emperor who knows what you should do?"

"You threaten me?" The green tendons on Yu Yun's forehead jumped violently.

Dugu Huaien smiled and said sincerely: "Brother-in-law, don't be nervous, there are many people who do the same thing as you, you are quite cautious, and some people have pulled the private army to Xiangyang City." This is actually not a secret, if the brother-in-law has a heart, he only needs to use Jing Zhaoyin's connections, and he can find out with a check. I know that everyone is preparing a retreat for themselves, but again, the emperor will not think so, especially at this time, he will never allow the existence of an army in the city that is not under his control, if these people are smarter, disbanded as soon as possible, otherwise, they will be purged like a storm. Tsukasa Takekawa's power is not limited to these gangsters on the surface. ”

Yu Yun's brows furrowed, "How do you know so much?" ”

"My father died at the hands of the emperor, how do you say I don't know?" Dugu Huaien's eyes were like eagle falcons, bursting with a thick color of hatred.

"Huh?" Yu Yun was stunned, and it took a long time before he restrained the shock in his heart and asked urgently, "Do you have any evidence?" ”

"I won't hide it from you...... Dugu Huaien took a deep breath and said, "I was ordered by my father to personally contact the Sui army. Three days ago, they told me that it was the Takekawa Division that was just a front for Li Yuan, and that the real lethal dagger was an assassin agency under Li Yuan's personal control, and its name was 'One Eye', and that they had assassinated his father. Afterwards, Li Yuan gave the order to exterminate the password, and only one of the three people who shot was rescued by the Sui army. ”

"Could it be that the Sui army is sowing discord?"

"When my father was alive, he told me and my family that Li Yuan had such an assassin organization, and the loyal ministers of the Sui Dynasty who stayed in Taiyuan were assassinated by Li Yuan one by one. In fact, his father's closing statement is full of suspicions, as long as you have the heart, you can know that someone deliberately blames Li Mi, and the various public opinions that recognize the statement of the Criminal Department are also guided by someone behind the scenes, as for those who express doubts, they have shut up under the severe torture of Wu Chuan, which is ostensibly Wu Chuansi's rude means to maintain and rectify public opinion, but in fact, he does not want others to continue to investigate and continue to doubt. You also know that Wu Chuanji is Li Yuan's loyal dog, and he will not do this without the master's order. Believe it or not, it's up to you. ”

Dugu Huaien's words seemed to be the key to unlocking all of Yu Yun's doubts, and all doubts were easily solved.

No wonder the Criminal Department closed the case in a hurry, no wonder the emperor accepted and came to an absurd conclusion, it turned out that the emperor was the real murderer, and the reason why he agreed to give Dugu a funeral was nothing more than to make up for the uneasiness of conscience.