The person who secretly helped Liu Haozi eliminate the hidden danger was Wu Yuanming and the scum of the rivers and lakes who had recently followed Wu Yuanming, and then Wu Yuanming secretly protected Liu Haozi and his party and continued to go north, until they went out of Hangzhou Mansion and entered Huzhou Mansion, and after the bottle kiln set, Liu Haozi and Hong Dashan also became a lot more cautious, and they were very careful not to dare to enter Huzhou Mansion to stay and settle down, but only replenished dry food in the outer city and bypassed Fucheng to Changxing. Seeing that the grumpy Liu Haozi had such a growth, Wu Yuanming finally put his mind at ease, so he gave up tracking Liu Haozi and others, and took Wu Lu, Zhu Fangdan, Dai Zi and others to Huzhou with a swagger, ready to make up for the hard work of these days with fine wine and delicacies and fine houses.

"Uncle, since we don't have to follow those little ghosts, let's take a boat to Jiangning, it's a crime to take a carriage by land in Jiangnan." While eating, Wang Ying'er rubbed her sore buttocks and pleaded with Wu Yuanming. It is rainy in the south of the Yangtze River, the roads are muddy, and it is not as fast and stable as taking a boat by car, Wu Yuanming also has a deep understanding of this, so he nodded and replied: "Okay, after dinner, we will rest in the city for a night, and tomorrow we will take a boat into Taihu Lake and turn into the canal to go north to Jiangning." ”

"Good! My uncle was the best for me, like this log, and told him to hug me in the carriage, but he said that his hands were not empty. Wang Ying'er cheered and took the opportunity to attack Dai Zi, glaring at Dai Zi and snorting through gritted teeth. Dai Zi stuffed his head, quickly ate Huzhou's famous meat dumplings and boiled white shrimp, and said vaguely: "My hands are really not free, my uncle wants me to quickly convert the repeating musket into a flintlock repeating musket that does not need to be ignited, where will I hold you?" ”

"Humph! Excuse! You must just don't want to hug me, you just want to hug other women, right? Wang Ying'er's trickery is not below Zheng Xin and Hui'er at all, and the degree of jealousy is even above those two girls. Dai Zi knew how powerful she was, and knew that once she spoke again, she would have an excuse for this girl to have a seizure, so she kept her head and only cared about eating, and didn't look at Wang Ying'er. Wang Ying'er was furious, and she stretched out her hand to pull Dai Zi's ear, but Wu Yuanming waved his hand to stop Wang Ying'er and whispered: "Ying'er, don't make trouble, listen to the conversation next door." ”

"What's going on next door?" Wang Ying'er became curious, and she and Wu Yuanming also listened to the conversation in the private room next door, and just heard someone next door say in a deliberately low but excited voice: "The third prince Zhu, who has been missing for more than 20 years, is still alive?" On September 18, do you want to worship your ancestors in front of the Ming Tomb? Is this news reliable? Who told you that? ”

"The news is absolutely reliable, it was Mr. Wang Yu, the head of the seven sons of Yantai, who told me the news." Another voice also replied in a low voice with great excitement: "Mr. Wang has already gone to Jiangning first, and on September 18, he must go to the Ming Tomb to see the true face of the third prince, and I also saw our friendship for many years, so I rushed to Huzhou to tell you, and asked if you would like to go to Jiangning with me?" Meet my third prince Zhu of the Ming Dynasty? ”

"Go! Go! Go! Of course go! Our Ming Dynasty finally has hope for revival. At first, the voice was so excited that he trembled when he spoke, "Thank you Brother Songling for sending the message thousands of miles, I will definitely walk with you in the next place, and meet my third prince Zhu of the Ming Dynasty!" ”

"Hahahaha." Hearing this, Wang Ying'er finally couldn't help but slap the table and laugh, wiped the tears from her eyes and said: "Zhu Cijiong has been missing for twenty-six years, if he was here, he would have shown up a long time ago, and now there are still people who believe that he is still alive?" What about the head of the seven sons of Yantai? I think it's the head of the seven sons of fools, right? ”

"Ying'er, don't talk nonsense." Wu Yuanming drank his niece, but Wu Yuanming was also dumbfounded in his heart, and said in his heart that I just killed a third prince Zhu in Beijing a few months ago, and now there is another third prince of Zhu, there are really such people who are not afraid of death, no wonder there are still people who pretend to be the third prince of Zhu to rebel until the Yongzheng period. At this time, a new long laugh came from the private room on the other side, "Hahahahaha...... stupid seven sons, the girl is really wonderful! If that God-damned Third Prince Zhu is really alive, then I will also turn him into a dead ghost. ”

"Tartar?!" Wu Yuanming was startled, and subconsciously picked up the flintlock musket to guard against it. The two people talking next door were already furious, and shouted: "That rebel minister and thief, how dare you say such a kingless and fatherless thing? While talking, the two people next door rushed out to find the traitor who scolded the third prince Zhu to settle the account, Wu Yuanming was busy chasing out with a flintlock musket, but saw that the two people who started to talk about the third prince Zhu were two scholars in green robes and Confucian shirts, one of them was very tall, at least a head taller than Wu Yuanming, and it was conservatively estimated that his height was at least more than one meter nine, which was very eye-catching. The other is small and skinny, and he is in harmony with his companions. When they found the person who insulted the third prince of Zhu, Wu Yuanming couldn't help but be a little surprised - it turned out that the person who insulted Zhu San was not an imaginary Tartar or a traitor, but a handsome young scholar, not very old, at most comparable to Wu Yuanming.

"Dog thief, you are so bold, why did you speak wildly to the third prince of the Ming Dynasty? Blatantly threatening to kill the king? The tall scholar was full of Shandong dialect and asked the young scholar in a menacing manner. The young scholar laughed, "I don't know who is bold?" Dare to openly say in the restaurant that he wants to visit the mausoleum of the former Ming Taizu, and also said that he wants to visit the former Ming Yu sin, so he is not afraid that the wall has ears? Fortunately, it is in the south, if it is north of the Yellow River, the two of you are afraid that you will be tied up in the yamen and put in prison, and then the nine clans will be wiped out. ”

was reminded by the young scholar, and the tall and short scholars remembered that they were in a downtown restaurant, and saw that many people had been alarmed to come out to watch, and the two scholars broke out in a cold sweat, not knowing what to do. Wu Yuanming hurriedly played a round and said: "Let's disperse, these gentlemen are just discussing whether the third prince of the former Ming and Zhu is still alive, there is nothing lively to see, let's disperse, disperse." With that, Wu Yuanming pushed the two scholars into the private room, closed the door, and the onlookers left suspiciously.

"Thank you Gongzi for your help, Pu and Brother Yin are grateful." The tall scholar bowed to Wu Yuanming. Wu Yuanming looked left and right, and said in a low voice: "A few gentlemen, this is not the place to talk, if you don't give up, please go to the inn where Wu is staying to talk about it, Wu is asking the two gentlemen for advice." The two scholars readily agreed, but the young scholar sneered, but when Wu Yuanming beckoned Zhu Fangdan and Wu Lu and the others to leave together, the young scholar's eyes suddenly froze on Wu Yuanming's beautiful nephew, Queen Ying'er, and left without saying a word.

insisted on paying for the three scholars, Wu Yuanming led them to the inn where he stayed, Wu Yuanming didn't like to be heard talking to him, and he was used to living alone in a cross-courtyard in the inn, and Huzhou was no exception. After they all sat down, Dai Zi, who didn't ask about government affairs, asked Wu Yuanming to go back to the room to study the musket, and Wang Ying'er naturally had to accompany him, the young and handsome scholar hurriedly rushed to Wang Ying'er's side, bowed down and said: "Xiaosheng Li Xihua, meet Miss, dare to ask Miss's name?" What is the age? If you want to change to another woman, you have to answer a few words when Li Xihua asks so politely, Wu Yuanming's nephew, Queen Ying'er, is biased, and says in a big way: "Why should I tell you my name and age?" I don't know you. After that, Wang Ying'er took Dai Zi's hand and went straight out of the room, disappointing Li Xihua.

"Li Xihua? Where do you think you've heard the name? Wu Yuanming muttered in his heart, and smiled at Li Xihua: "Don't blame Mr. Li, my niece has no tutor since she was a child, and she is rude." Li Xihua was surprised and delighted, and bowed his hand to Wu Yuanming: "It turns out that Miss Wang is Mr. Wu's niece, I don't know if Mr. Wang's niece has ever been married?" Did you allow someone? Wu Yuanming smiled and said: "I have already promised someone, it is the Dai Gongzi just now, or my uncle's matchmaker." Li Xihua's face immediately became gloomy, and he sat in the corner and sulked. Although Wu Yuanming saw the reason why he was angry, he couldn't help him, so he could only go.

"Let me introduce myself first, under the surname Wu Yuanming - no one has forgotten the meaning of the Ming Dynasty, Jiangsu Gaoyou, I don't know the two gentlemen's surnames? Where is the home? Wu Yuanming cheekily introduced his name out of context, and asked the tall and short scholars. The short scholar arched his hand and replied: "In Xia Yin Shijie, a native of Huzhou Mansion, because he has no intention of serving the Tartars, he has not participated in the scientific examination so far, and he is still white. The tall scholar with a Shandong accent also replied: "In Xia Pu Songling, the word Jianchen, a native of Zichuan, Shandong, shows his talent and fame." ”

"Strange? How can this Pu Songling's name be so familiar? Wu Yuanming was another hanger, and Zhu Fangdan, who was sitting next to Wu Yuanming, jumped up, grabbed Pu Songling's hand and exclaimed: "It turns out that you are Pu Songling, I have been looking up for a long time, I have read the "Notes on the Wall", "Qin Se Le" and "Strange Tales from Liaozhai" you wrote, I heard that the prototype of the scholar who met the beautiful female ghost in it is yourself, is there really such a thing?" Can Mr. Songling teach him a few hands, so that he can also have a chance to have a spring festival with those beautiful female ghosts? ”

"It turned out to be the author of "Strange Tales from Liaozhai", the official fan and **** Pu Songling, who has not been admitted to the exam for more than 50 years, no wonder I feel so familiar." Wu Yuanming suddenly realized, and while smiling, he hurriedly grabbed Zhu Fangdan, "Doctor Zhu, you ask Mr. Pu Songling for advice on how to let the beautiful female ghost slow down in advance, I still have something to ask Mr. Pu Songling for advice." Holding down the anxious Zhu Fangdan, Wu Yuanming asked Pu Songling again: "Mr. Songling, just now in the restaurant, I heard you talk about the third prince of Zhu in the former Ming Dynasty, I don't know how Mr. Wang Yushu, the head of the seven sons of Yantai, knew about the third prince of Zhu?" How can you be sure that the third prince of Zhu is not a fake - Mr. Songling, you also know that since the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, there have been quite a few people who have swaggered and deceived under the banner of my third prince Zhu of the Ming Dynasty. ”

"If you don't like it, will Uncle Wang Yu be a liar?" Wu Yuanming asked Pu Songling. Pu Songling shook his head resolutely and replied, "Mr. Wu, Mr. Wang should not be fooled. The story is like this, in late July, Mr. Wang occasionally visited Baotu Spring to enjoy the lake and mountains, and found two poems by the spring, because the two poems are beautiful, elegant and refined, Mr. Wang couldn't help but read a few more times, and immediately found that the two poems actually contained mysteries, one is a hidden poem, and the other poem is readable on the front and back, and it is another layer of meaning when read upside down, which implies that the third prince of Zhu is still alive, and he will worship in front of the Ming Tomb on the birthday of the Ming Taizu on September 18. If Mr. Wang Yushu got the treasure, he was busy copying the poems and passing them on to the seven sons of Yantai - Xiaosheng is one of the seven sons of Yantai The disciple of Mr. Shi Yanzhang, and he also had the opportunity to see the two masterpieces. I don't want to find the same poems in the scenic spots and historic sites in the south of the Yangtze River one after another, or hide the head, or interlaced, and even jump three words to read and obliquely read, all of which reveal the meaning that the third prince of Zhu is still alive, Uncle Wang Yu knew that the matter was not accidental, so he urgently informed his friends and told them what they saw, everyone was surprised, and Mr. Song Wan, Yan Xin and Ding Peng, among the seven sons of Yantai, have gone south one after another, to see the authenticity in front of the Ming Tomb in Jiangning. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Wu Yuanming was puzzled, and said in his heart that the new third prince of Zhu really had some means, and he actually came up with a set of poems and songs to bewitch the literati, and the elites of the Jiangnan literary circle all liked to go to the places of interest and historic sites to chant poems and write poems, and figure out the poems of their predecessors. "All in one?!" Thinking of this, Wu Yuanming couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and hurriedly asked Pu Songling: "Mr. Pu, have you and Mr. Wang Yu ever asked who left those poems?" Is the handwriting of those poems the same person? ”

"Of course I did." Pu Songling replied: "But no one saw the poems when the authors of those poems left them, so we found nothing." However, Mr. Wang Yushu was good at figuring out the handwriting, and found that one of those poets must have copied the pen of the right army in the Qing Secret Hall, and his pen power was very strong - he had the most handwriting among the poems; the other is handwritten in a beautiful handwriting, which seems to have been written by a woman; There is also a naïve character, who seems to be not very old, but he must have been guided by the Master, and in time it will be a success. But the strangest thing is the last person, his handwriting is ever-changing, sleek and sophisticated, Wei Tablet, willow style, plum blossom seal characters are available, and there are even tadpole texts that few people can understand, it looks like dozens of different handwritings, even Mr. Wang Yushu does not dare to determine whether those handwritings are left by the same person. ”

"That's weird, could I have guessed wrong?" The more Wu Yuanming listened, the more confused he became, originally Wu Yuanming suspected that this was another immoral idea that Wu Ciyou, a hardcore traitor, lured the anti-Qing literati in Jiangnan to Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum in the name of the third prince of Zhu, and wiped out the anti-Qing elites in Jiangnan Confucianism, but now it doesn't seem to be like it - Wu Ciyou's little bit of ability Wu Yuanming still knows, one person imitates the different handwriting of dozens of people, Wu Ciyou has to practice for another fifty years! Thinking of this, Wu Yuanming couldn't help but have a thought, could it be that there was really an imposter who planned to pretend to be the third prince of Zhu to deceive?

"Pretending to be a ghost, the new Third Prince Zhu seems to be not a big deal." Li Xihua, who has not spoken since Wang Ying'er left the room, snorted coldly, and also thought that the third prince Zhu who left poems to make demagoguery was an impostor. Li Xihua sneered again: "But I'm also a little interested, when the time comes, I will definitely go to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum to have a look, if that third prince Zhu is true, I will kill him with a sword and send him to see his dead ghost father Chongzhen." It doesn't matter if he is fake, I will pee on Zhu Yuanzhang's grave by the way, which can be regarded as a gift to their Zhu family. ”

As soon as Li Xihua said this, everyone, including the scum Golden Dao and the pervert doctor Zhu Fangdan, all changed color on their faces, and Pu Songling and Yin Shijie, two literati with a clear mind, were even more furious, and shouted together: "Traitor, you dare to insult my Ming Taizu? Pu Songling, who is one meter nine tall, relied on his height and was tall, and went directly to grab Li Xihua's neck and wanted to beat him up, Wu Yuanming was also angry and did not stop him, but what happened next made Wu Yuanming stunned - seeing that Pu Songling's hand had just touched Li Xihua's body, Wu Yuanming didn't even see Li Xihua's movements clearly, and Pu Songling, who was more than one meter nine, flew out far away, hit the wall and fell half to death.

"You...... Are you a practitioner? Pu Songling struggled, pointed at Li Xihua and exclaimed. Li Xihua smiled, picked up the teacup and pinched it gently, put it in the palm of his hand and rubbed it slowly, and the porcelain powder fell in clusters, seeing that Pu Songling and Wu Yuanming and others were dumbfounded, and said in their hearts that this Li Xihua's martial arts were so strong. However, being so troubled by Li Xihua, Wu Yuanming immediately remembered his identity, pointed at Li Xihua and exclaimed: "I remember, you are Li Xihua, the son of Li Zicheng's general Li Yan and the Red Lady!" No wonder you hate the Zhu Ming Dynasty so much, the Zhu Ming Dynasty was simply overthrown by your father with Li Zicheng! ”

"The remnants of the thief Li Zicheng?" The room was full of exclaims, and everyone looked at Li Xihua in disbelief. But Li Xihua was even more surprised than the others, and asked in surprise: "How do you know my life experience?" Since my mother took me into seclusion, we haven't revealed our identities, how do you know so clearly? ”

"Don't ask me about this, and I won't answer it." Wu Yuanming calmly asked Li Xihua: "But I'm very strange, since you are Li Yan's son, then you should hate Li Zicheng who killed your father the most - don't you tell me, do you really think Li Zicheng is dead?" And the Ming Dynasty was also completely overthrown by your father with the help of Li Zicheng, why do you still have such a deep grudge against Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants, and you want to kill Zhu Cijiong, who doesn't know whether he is alive or dead? ”

"Why don't I hate Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants?" Li Xihua said hatefully: "If Chongzhen hadn't forced my father back then, how could my father have defected to Li Zicheng, the narrow-minded villain?" How could he die tragically under Li Zicheng's knife? So I have sworn in front of my father's and mother's spiritual throne that I will kill the descendants of the Zhu family cleanly! and that Li Zicheng, who may still be alive, I will also cut him with a thousand knives and take his head to my father's spiritual seat to pay respects! ”

"Didn't you do the Tartars a great favor by doing this?" Yin Shijie, who was good friends with Pu Songling, hated the Manchu Qing Dynasty very much, and asked Li Xihua angrily: "The third prince of Zhu is the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty, the only hope of our Han people, as long as he is alive, the anti-Qing righteous people in the world will have the backbone and the strength to condense into a group!" If you kill the third prince of Zhu, wouldn't that be a great favor to the Tartars? ”

"Whether the world is the world of the Han people or the world of the Manchurians, it has nothing to do with me." Li Xihua gritted his fine teeth and said: "In my eyes, there is only the revenge of killing my father!" Pu Songling, Yin Shijie and the others were furious again, but because of Li Xihua's strong martial arts, they didn't dare to pounce and fight with Li Xihua, and Li Xihua didn't think it was really interesting to be with these people who didn't talk speculatively, so he pushed the door out with a long laugh.

"Mr. Li, please wait." When Li Xihua was about to walk out of the inn, Wu Yuanming chased after him alone and shouted. Li Xihua turned around and asked, "Is there anything else?" ”

"Mr. Li, I want to ask you a question, do you hate Wu Sangui? Do you want to seek revenge on him? Wu Yuanming asked Li Xihua in a low voice. Li Xihua hesitated for a long time and replied slowly: "Although my father's death is related to Wu Sangui's introduction of Qing soldiers into the customs, it is not the main reason. It doesn't matter who I am, whether I kill Wu Sangui or not. ”

"Then let's cooperate." Wu Yuanming took out the gold medal of Pingxi Palace, smiled at Li Xihua and said, "We in Pingxi Palace, help you find our common enemies, Li Zicheng and Third Prince Zhu, you help us in Pingxi Palace, do one thing." ”

"What do you want me to do? Let's start with that. Li Xihua pondered for a long time before asking Wu Yuanming. Wu Yuanming smiled and said: "I want you to help me check the movement of the Qing soldiers in the Jiangning area, especially to find out if the Qing soldiers have secretly moved after disguise, with your martial arts, it shouldn't be difficult to sneak into the Jiangsu Governor's Mansion, which is in charge of Jiangsu's military, to listen to the news, right?" ”

"Why?" Li Xihua asked strangely. Wu Yuanming said: "You also heard what happened just now, I suspect that those poems are a trap set by the Tartars, wanting to deceive the anti-Qing literati in Jiangnan to the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum, and kill the anti-Qing forces in Jiangnan." These anti-Qing forces are still useful to our Pingxi Palace, so I want to protect them secretly. Speaking of this, Wu Yuanming added with a wicked smile, "If you help me with this, my niece will also thank you very much." ”