Dunhuang, the North City Gate.

There was a noise at the city gate, and an old eunuch sat in a wide carriage, with a long cavalry procession in front and behind the carriage, swaggering and shouting and swearing, and the guard of honor beating gongs and drums in the middle, swaggering past the city gate.

The banner cavalry ran very fast, and the banner of the "Xiang" word supervision army was pulled by the backward wind.

They seem to be walking in their own backyard, unscrupulous, and when they pass by the guard posts, they turn a blind eye and are arrogant.

As we entered the city, there were more and more pedestrians, and although there were cavalry in front of them, they could not disperse the pedestrians quickly, so the speed of the carriage slowed down. From time to time, there was the sound of soldiers cursing and the cacophony of knocking over the stalls. The people dared not speak out in anger, so they could only hide on the side of the road.

This old eunuch is not a bystander, it is the new 16th Division supervisor Xiang Dangyang, today he came with the troops, wearing a fur coat, tilting his head slightly and falling into the chair, deliberately letting people open the door curtain, as if bathing in the sun.

Looking at his empty eyes, it seems that he is the master of Dunhuang City, and the minister of the Qin mission comes to the world instead of the emperor.

The old eunuch's eyes slanted, scanning both sides of the street, Dunhuang City is really becoming more and more prosperous, and another round of renovation projects on the street has begun construction.

The old eunuch muttered in a low voice: "Chen Mu, this kid can really toss." ”

By chance, Xiang Dangyang became the supervisor of the 16th Division, and made a comeback with a thousand iron cavalry. He must have come badly, so Chen Mu had already begun to take precautions, planning to give Xiang Dangyang the first meeting gift. But this meeting was not friendly.

Before Xiang Dangyang entered Dunhuang, his military power had been "unloaded" by Chen Mu. Chen Mu wrote to Zhang Yunlong in an official document, and Zhang's reply was that the 1,000 cavalry only escorted him to Dunhuang, not his prison corps.

As soon as Xiang Dangyang's prison army broke into Dunhuang City, Zhang Han's troops quickly set off from the General's Mansion, and the two sides met at the intersection of Zhongjie and Three Alleys.

With a green zebra under his crotch and a five-hooked bright silver gun in his hand, Zhang Han took the lead and came to Xiang Dangyang, holding an official document and blocking the car.

Thinking that this encounter was another verbal sword, Chen Mu prepared a manuscript for Zhang Han, who was not good at quarrelling, which was written by a secretary named Hu Fen, who turned out to be a professional writer of essays. Authentic imperial examination background. A mouthful of good words.

Zhang Han was already ready for "battle", but he didn't expect Xiang Dangyang to smile, take the official document, and then call the cavalry captain and ask the commander to lead the troops back to the Anxi headquarters. And he only took the escort team to the Dunhuang General's Mansion.

Xiang Dangyang said: "Now, the headquarters of the Eighth Division has been changed to the Dunhuang General's Mansion, and the Dunhuang General does not belong to the Sixteenth Division. Please also ask Zhang Xiao to lead the way. ”

Xiang Dangyang suddenly became polite, but Zhang Han was a little at a loss. When he came out this time, he didn't plan to bring Xiang Dangyang back. I also thought in my heart that it would be best if I could drive him away directly. It's good now, people don't come hard, but greet them with a smile, and the drafts prepared in advance are all useless.

Zhang Han paused, folded the paper, and put it in his pocket in case he needed it.

Soon after, Zhang Han returned to the general's mansion and reported: The deputy commander of Anxi and the superintendent of the 16th Division asked to see the chief deputy to Dangyang, and also sent a name post.

It's too polite.

Seeing this, Chen Mu was suspicious for a while, but he didn't say anything, so he let Xiang Dangyang into the study.

"Incense, to make tea to the prison army."

Seeing Xiang Dangyang again, the old mink temple was full of spring breeze and smiling.

Chen Mu was even more puzzled in his heart, and he was polite on the surface, and invited Xiang Jian Jun to sit at the table.

The two sat down to drink tea, never mentioned what happened last time, chatted casually about some gossip about the court, and Xiang Dangyang stopped talking.

Chen Mu motioned for Hanxiang to step back.

As soon as Hanxiang closed the door, Xiang Dangyang immediately stood up, shook his sleeves, spread his arms, flashed his palms outward, put his hands together, hugged each other, and bowed respectfully, showing extreme humility:

"I didn't know the identity of His Highness before, I was offended, and I ask Your Highness to forgive me."

Seeing this, Chen Mu had three points of doubt in his heart, but he still asked with a smile: "What did the Queen Mother tell you?" ”

Xiang Dangyang nodded and said, "Actually, about the identity of His Royal Highness, there have long been rumors in Luoyang City. But before I got the news from the Queen Mother, how dare I listen to those words. ”

Chen Mu nodded: "You and I don't have to be so polite." Please take your seat at the prison guard. ”

"Your Highness Xie." Give a deep salute to Dangyang and bow to the ground.

Xiang Dangyang's every move was completely in accordance with the etiquette for the prince. The Liang Dynasty had a strict hierarchy and complicated etiquette, and eunuchs of different levels had different etiquette laws when they saw princes of different ranks.

At this time, Xiang Dangyang treated Chen Mu almost with the etiquette of meeting the prince of the East Palace, so he almost knelt.

Xiang Dangyang's expression was solemn, and he sat down cautiously, with a touch of sadness in the corners of his eyes, as if he remembered something, and asked humbly: "Your Highness, have you heard about our family's past?" ”

Chen Mu nodded: "I have heard of the ups and downs in the first half of Xiang Jianjun's life. I deeply admire people like you, who have endured all the ups and downs, and can stand in such a high position. ”

Xiang Dangyang smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Your Highness, do you know why our family has gone up and down?" ”

"I want to hear about it." Chen Mu said gently.

Xiang Dangyang raised his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes: "It seems that His Royal Highness doesn't know that when Chen Meiren and the first emperor were around, in addition to Cheng Wannu, there was also a little Yangzi." Xiao Yangzi was taken by the first emperor Long'en and followed the first emperor all day long. Including Lin Xing Chen Meiren, every time Xiao Yangzi uses notes in his sleeve. If there is no note from our family, I am afraid that the identity of the prince will not be recognized by the royal family. ”

Hearing this, Chen Mu's heart moved, and when he looked at the old eunuch again, his eyes were a little more gentle.

Xiang Dangyang sighed: "It's a pity that Chen Meiren's life is short, and the first emperor's life is also short." When Chen Meiren died, Xiaoyangzi was punished once and almost lost his life. Fortunately, our family still has some popularity in the eunuch pile, and someone found the empress dowager to intercede for our family, so we were saved from death. ”

Chen Mu didn't intend to interrupt Xiang Dangyang's words, but the old eunuch didn't say anything about this. It seems that he was deliberately waiting for Chen Mu to ask some questions.

Chen Mu stood up, went to the drawer and rummaged through it, and pulled out a white jade wrench. The wrench is exquisite, the carving is excellent, and a little red flaw is used, and a crane is carved on it, and that little bit of red happens to be on the top of the crane's head. That little flaw becomes the most subtle thing.

Chen Mu took the wrench, sat down opposite, put the wrench on the coffee table, and slowly pushed it to the old eunuch.

Xiang Dangyang looked at the wrench, but didn't reach out to take it.

Chen Mu motioned for him to accept it.

Xiang Dangyang held the wrench in both hands, didn't dare to look at it, and put it firmly in his arms.

Chen Mu frowned and asked, "What does Chen Meiren's death have to do with you, and why does it affect you?" ”

Xiang Dangyang raised his head violently: "Everyone knows that Chen Meiren died of tuberculosis, what can it have to do with our family." But Empress Tang said that I couldn't take care of me, so she asked to be martyred. ”

"......Martyred alive" Chen Mu frowned and shook his head: "Why didn't the first emperor save you, but he wanted to go to the empress dowager to intercede for you?" ”

Xiang Dangyang suddenly burst into tears, and sobbed: "First Emperor......, if the First Emperor is as affectionate as His Royal Highness, Chen Meiren will not be unable to enter the palace for many years, and our family will not be in such a difficult situation." ”

The first is the latest.