In the frenzy of Haoge, he was cold, he saw the abyss in the sky, he saw nothing in all eyes, and he was saved in hopelessness. - Chu Xiang Taifu Ji.

"The head of the house! Head of the house! There is a letter from the imperial capital Tianyuan City, and there is a letter from the emperor! ”

Outside, the excited and eager cries of house slaves could be heard in the empty corridor, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps.

Bai Lie slowly put back the manuscript of the marching strategy left by his ancestors in his hand on the desk, his face was calm, he was slightly silent for a moment, and after thinking about the difficulties recorded in the book in his heart, he got up calmly after thinking clearly.

There was only one oil candle lit in the huge study, and his long shadow was drawn on the wall, a little thin and lonely, he looked at the dark sky outside the window, step by step, and walked out of the door, walking slowly, but his body was not half sluggish.

Gently opened the wooden door, and the night breeze of late summer blew on his face, full of coolness.

The sky is clear, the vast canopy is dotted with stars, the bright moon hangs high, the brilliance of the stars and the moon will splash the earth on the earth clearly, and every scenery can still be seen vaguely.

It's just that every scene and thing seems to be very lonely, just like him standing in front of the window, in front of the summer mountain residence is a dense ancient tree, and the leaves are slightly blue, the same color as the canopy.

In the spring of the first year of Emperor Mourning, he was just a son of the Tianshui Bai clan, and he used to be careless, but when the frost fell in the harsh winter of that year, his father watched him hold his hand in his dying state, and he couldn't say what he couldn't say after struggling for a long time, so he closed his eyes forever and left.

So Bai Lie became the youngest head of the Tianshui Bai clan since he became a family, the last authentic heir with the "blood of the general", a young man who shouldered the glory of the century-old family's iron-blooded martial arts, but a child who was just fifteen and crowned.

At that time, the young Bai Lie knelt in front of his father, felt his hands being tightly clenched, and looked at the round and bloodshot eyes, he knew what his father wanted to say at that time.

It was just a sentence that his father had spoken to him for fifteen years, a word that had been repeated in his ears for as long as he could remember.

"You bear the glory of your ancestors on your shoulders, you have the blood of the general, and you have to bear the glorious dignity of the Tianshui Bai clan."

He knew, so he put his hand into his father's thinning gray hair and combed it carefully, his face was solemn, and he nodded silently, only to see that his father's body was no longer straight, and he felt his body slowly cool down.

The head of the house with a long figure stood under the wide eaves with his sleeves in his sleeves, silently looking at the verdant mountains in the distance, and this natural exudation of majesty made the house slaves on the side dare not be presumptuous, and the house slaves waved their hands and slowly lowered their voices, and their faces were humble, and they knelt quietly aside.

Bai Lie was stunned for a long time, and when the house slave who was kneeling on the side secretly speculated, he slowly looked sideways at the letterhead in the hand of the house slave, which was indeed the kind of light brown birch bark paper that the imperial family of the imperial capital of Great Zhou liked the most, and it was also covered with the emperor's seal and the big seal of the Chinese book.

It has been four years since he received a letter from the imperial capital Tianyuan City, since he left Tianyuan City in a hurry four years ago, he has been in this house for four years, I don't know how many days and nights, cold and summer, spring and autumn, this is the news that he has heard from the imperial capital again, and his face does not look like he knows whether he is happy or sad.

Although Prime Minister Yuan Cheng's position among the royal ministers was in full swing at that time, he was in power, and he was a joint assistant with the Queen Mother. But I heard that after he left Tianyuan, the general He Jin took control of the government, and Prime Minister Yuan's prestige was declining day by day.

Why, is the situation in Tianyuan City, the imperial capital, making waves again?

Bai Lie thought so, but he didn't have a fearful expression, but was a little distracted.

Two or three years in a flash, and summer in a hurry.

It was a day that Bai Lie would never forget, he clenched his palms tightly, his eyes were deep, and his heart seemed to think of that day, and it was that humiliating night, which magnificent man in white couldn't calm down for a long time.

On that day, it was Yuan Taiqi's 70th birthday, and the guests in the Prime Minister's Mansion were like clouds.

Boxes of gifts were placed from the middle hall to the door, and the house slave of the master of ceremonies held the gift list, and one person could not read it, so two people needed to recite it at the same time, and I didn't know if it was read in the end for a whole day.

The wealthy family who came to congratulate was able to shake hands with Yuan Taiqi and greet him, which can be regarded as having received the favor of the prime minister, and more people can only worship in the hall.

Even the Queen Mother of the Royal Family also sent someone to personally send a pair of short axes made of sterling silver, Yuan Taiqi connected the short axe with a box on the central hall, just like the previous tribute to the rewards in the palace, the guests did not dare to look at it more than envy, the pair of short axes were like newly cast, and the shining cold light was a little dazzling.

When night fell, the feast outside had not yet been removed, and the feast in the back garden had opened again.

There were only about forty guests left, all of whom were members of powerful and powerful families.

There are dozens of big red palace lamps lit in the pavilion, the lights are bright, there is no half of darkness inside and out, and the furniture is all one color of red, which looks very festive.

Bai Lie was just a small clerical staff officer of Jin Wuwei, Bai Lie, originally he was not qualified to sit in this warm pavilion and drink now, but with the huge iron-blooded reputation of the Tianshui Bai clan laid down by his ancestors in the past and the fact that he paid a lot of price, he was able to sit here safely at this time and drink and have fun with a group of people.

He wanted to climb the path of Yuan Taiqi and have a good future for himself, although he resisted, but the things on his back did not allow him to refuse.

Tianshui Bai clan, not a strong family, Bai is known for its iron-blooded military force, the Great Zhou Dynasty was founded for 800 years, but the Bai Dynasty has produced many generals who fought bravely, expanded the territory for the Great Zhou, pacified the border chaos, never cut off, was praised by Emperor Zhou Cheng, and was said to be a family with "the blood of the general".

But since his father relapsed because of the dark disease left on the battlefield that year, he was seriously ill and paralyzed at home, and there were no men in the family who could go to battle.

On the day of his crown, his father personally put the matching sword left by the ancestor of the Bai family in the palm of Bai Lie's hand, and the ardent expectation between the words made Bai Lie unable to flinch.

When he was born, he was told that he was going to fight on the battlefield in the future, and the general in the Weizhen army was to make great military achievements like his ancestors, for the iron and blood prestige of the Bai family, he began to learn military strategy with the teacher at home at the age of six, polishing his martial arts, hoping to defend the glory of the Bai family one day in the future.

The dancing girls became more and more enchanting, sticking softly to a few distinguished guests.

Yuan Taiqi only sat behind the silver curtain and raised his glass diligently, and frequently persuaded the distinguished guests of the family around him to drink. The guests below gradually sat down with men and women, drunk and hazy, and several lustful young family owners gathered around the dancing girl and pinched her round and jade feet, Yuan Taiqi secretly looked at it when he was drinking, and the smile on the corner of his mouth became thicker and thicker.

The entire pavilion began to be filled with an atmosphere of extravagance and lewdness, and Bai Lie was sitting precariously and watching coldly.

He doesn't like such occasions, he bleeds the blood of an iron-blooded general, he is a general born for the battlefield, and he is not suitable for everything in front of him.

He hated the way people from the big families looked at him, the kind of disdainful, arrogant, dispensable eyes.

The turmoil in Bai Lie's heart gradually turned into anger, his eyebrows were raised, his face was pale, and he drank a glass of wine by himself, but he suddenly noticed the sound of the piano in his ears.

In such a scene, the sound of the piano is still not chaotic, Qing Lingling's is like the thawing of the glacier in early spring, although the rest of the silk and bamboo orchestral sounds rise and fall, but someone forced a xylophone to suppress the scene, so that other musicians dare not make a mistake.

Bai Lie suddenly looked up and saw the woman stroking the qin in the middle of the musician.

The pianist's slightly gloomy eyes were also looking at this side, the eyes of the two of them flashed away, Bai Lie bowed slightly, and the pianist saw a little pale face with a hint of a smile, and lowered his head to stroke the qin, as if it was just a stone thrown into the pool of water to startle a string of ripples, and then calmed down.

This was the first time Bai Lie had met Yun Jun, the Chinese player of the qin, and he had only vaguely heard this name before entering Tianyuan City.

"Are you the new head of the Tianshui Bai Clan? Think about your Tianshui Bai clan in the early years, it can be regarded as a famous family, although it is a group of reckless martial artists, although it has been lonely over the years, but it can still be heard when it is thrown in the water, why do you look not very old, or a drooping child became the head of the family, is it that the men of your Tianshui Bai family are dead? ”

A slightly chubby man in a blue dress, drunk eyes, glanced at Bai Lie, leaned closer, looked at the Bai logo on Bai Lie's chest, pointed, and said with a laugh.

Bai Lie's face was expressionless, and he stepped back three feet: "Killed on the battlefield, shrouded in horse leather, my Bai family man has never been afraid, and a man with the blood of a general will not be able to lift a knife because he is still young." ”

The sonorous words were extremely stiff, and the drunken young man was stunned.

The young man seemed to be a little sobered up by Bai Lie's words, and then looked at all the playmates in the hall who saw that he was ugly, and then he was a little angry.

"A bullshit family in the countryside dares to speak loudly, praising you for really holding yourself high, several generations of men have died on the battlefield at our command, but they are just dog-like characters, and they are also worthy of the blood of generals!"

Bai Lie's face was extremely cold, his palms were clenched, and he lowered his head.

Seeing this, the young man in Huayi became more and more presumptuous, "I'm afraid you're the last head of the Bai family, I don't know if there is any bullshit general blood after you die, I'm afraid that the family is all widows!" The boy turned around, looked at the other guests, and said with a high smile, "Come, let the dignified Bai family master dance for us today, their famous sword dance!" ”

"You are presumptuous!" Bai Lie roared suddenly, he couldn't hold back any longer, he didn't show mercy at all, he swung out his palm, and slapped it firmly on the cheek of the boy.

Then he knelt down and leaned forward, leaning sideways, and the whole audience was suddenly stunned by the voice and Bai Lie's movements.