The reactions of the lord and the high priest were very strange, and even Zhao Che sensed that something was wrong, and said in a deep voice: "Do the lord and the high priest think there is something wrong with our Zhaoling Tanhualang?" ”

The lord did not speak, and the high priest bent down and picked up all the sad and joyful noodles that had been shattered to the ground, one by one.

When he bent over, Shen Bai saw his jade-like white porcelain face, and his jaw line was so beautiful that he couldn't talk about it, because he hadn't seen light all year round, the skin on his face was almost transparent, revealing a luster of lustre, and his silver hair hung down softly on the side of his ears, making people feel a kind of unintentional palpitation that made people look at the world's stunning palpitations.

The high priest did not speak again, picked up the fragments and left.

The Lord Monarch looked at Shen Bai with a gloomy expression, sighed for a long time and said, "The sad and joyful face on the face of the high priest is the most important symbol of our Dongheng, which has been passed down for hundreds of years and has been preserved intact. ”

Gu Hengzhou still grabbed Shen Bai's hand and didn't let go, after sitting for a while, Shen Bai felt much more comfortable, blinked his eyes, and looked at the lord with an innocent face: "The lord thinks that I broke the mask of the high priest with my hands and feet?" ”

The lord shook his head, this sad and happy noodles are made of very special materials, there was a civil strife in Dongheng Kingdom, the rebels killed the high priest at the time, trying to destroy the sad and happy noodles, but tried many methods and could not destroy the sad and happy noodles, the sad and happy noodles were lost in the war, more than ten years later, the civil strife subsided, and it was worn by the descendants of the high priest to re-emerge.

Even if Shen Bai wanted to use his hands and feet, it was impossible for him to break the sad and joyful side so easily, there must be other reasons.

After this incident, the lord was uneasy, and he didn't want to ask Gu Hengzhou and Shen Bai anything anymore, so he hastily said a few words to let them leave.

Zhao Che and Zhou Jue were arranged in the courtyard to the west of the palace, the inside of the house was similar to the city lord's mansion in Dukesha, the walls were inlaid with night pearls, and the windows were colorful glass, which reflected brilliant light in the sun, dyeing the whole house with dreamy colors.

The lord allowed Zhao Che to bring his own people into the palace to guard in the courtyard, and as soon as he entered the house, Zhou Jue relaxed and looked at Gu Hengzhou nervously: "Brother Gu, what's wrong with your eyes?" You okay? ”

Along the way, Gu Hengzhou was still holding Shen Bai, and Shen Bai simply raised his hand, pretending that she was helping Gu Hengzhou walk.

Gu Hengzhou was already able to see it last night, and he didn't panic, and said lightly: "It's okay." ”

After speaking, he let go of Shen Bai and bowed in the direction of Zhao Che: "Weichen has failed His Majesty's entrustment and failed to safely transport the return gift to Hengyang, please forgive Your Highness." ”

Gu Hengzhou admitted his mistake, and Shen Bai immediately lifted the hem of his clothes and knelt in front of Zhao Che: "It was I who dragged Brother Gu back, please don't blame Brother Gu!" ”

Zhao Che thought that the two of them died in Jiangzhong, although they arrived in Hengyang safely, but they were pressed with a boulder in their hearts, if Gu Hengzhou died like this, Zhaoling would lose a future general, not to mention, let alone go to Zhenguo.

There were no outsiders at this time, Zhao Che's eyes were a little happy, and he stepped forward to help Gu Hengzhou up: "It is the luck of Zhaoling that Xingyuan can come back alive, and if it weren't for the palace to let Xingyuan lead the troops to ambush those people, Xingyuan would not have had an accident because of this, and after the palace went back, he would have to apologize to the prince of Zhenguo." ”

Gu Hengzhou said solemnly: "His Royal Highness is the prince of Zhaoling, and he is going to die for His Highness, which is also what Weichen should do." ”

These words are similar to what Shen Bai said before, but they are much heavier than what Shen Bai said.

Zhao Che was touched and patted Gu Hengzhou's arm: "Xingyuan's shoulders are also the future of Zhaoling, no matter when, this palace will not joke with your life!" ”

This conversation between the monarch and the minister was very harmonious, but Zhao Che seemed to have completely forgotten that there was still a Shen Bai kneeling on the ground.

The floor tiles were cold and hard, and Shen Bai knelt for a while before pondering the taste.

Zhao Che was punishing her in disguise, even if he didn't see what happened with his own eyes when he was in the temple, he knew that with Gu Hengzhou's skills, he would never be beaten by those assassins to the point of falling into the river, Gu Hengzhou probably fell to save Shen Bai.

No matter how well Shen Bai served Zhao Che all the way, it was not worth mentioning in front of the charge of almost killing the prince of Zhenguo.

If Gu Hengzhou really died, it would be impossible to dispel Zhao Che's unwilling resentment even if he whipped Shen Bai's corpse and crushed his bones and scattered ashes.

Worried about Gu Hengzhou's eyes, Zhao Che asked Zhou Jue to take Gu Hengzhou to rest first, and then asked people to invite the imperial doctor of Donghengguo to treat Gu Hengzhou's eyes.

Waiting for Gu Hengzhou and Zhou Jue to leave, Zhao Che sat down in front of Shen Bai steadily.

He was not in a hurry to speak, poured a cup of cold tea and sipped it slowly, the majesty of the royal high ground was pressed down heavily, Shen Bai bowed his head and knelt obediently, not daring to be presumptuous.

After a cup of tea, Zhao Che finally asked, "After falling into the Hengxiang River, where did you go?" ”

Shen Bai replied truthfully: "Back to Your Highness, we were washed by the flood to a place called Yuewan downstream, someone in the village found me and Brother Gu by the river, rescued us home, Brother Gu was accidentally poisoned before falling into the river, in order to ask the doctor to help him treat his eyes, we stayed in Yuewan for a few days, and then quickly came to Hengyang to find His Highness." ”

Zhao Che added tea to the cup and questioned coldly: "You have stayed in Yuewan for at least four days, do you think that the imperial medical skills of the Dongheng royal family are not as good as the doctors of a small village?" ”

Since neither of them was too seriously injured, they should rush to Hengyang as soon as possible, and staying in that small place in Yuewan for so many days is not the best way to deal with it in Zhao Che's opinion.

Shen Bai didn't dare to say that he came to Kwai Shui for two days and was delayed, so he could only say: "The imperial doctor's medical skills are naturally good, but my physique is not as strong as Brother Gu, I had a high fever for three days after being rescued, and Brother Gu's eyes can't see, if you forcibly bring me up to Hengyang, I'm afraid there will be a lot of incidents on the road, so I stayed in Yuewan for a while, please surrender your highness!" ”

Zhao Che put the teacup aside, the cup made a sound that was not light or heavy, and the awe-inspiring slaughter spread silently, Shen Bai's shoulders trembled slightly, and Zhao Che said coldly: "I almost killed the prince of Zhenguo, do you know what crime to be guilty of?" ”

Shen Bai couldn't afford this crime, so he couldn't help but defend himself: "That night in the temple, since His Highness had a plan, why didn't he tell me in advance?" If I had known His Highness's plan, such an accident would not have happened. ”

Unexpectedly, Shen Bai dared to fight back, Zhao Che's eyes narrowed slightly, and the tails of his eyes narrowed into a narrow arc, cold and sharp: "Do you still think you are reasonable?" ”

Shen Bai stiffened his neck and was not convinced: "Along the way, I have been proving to His Highness that I am willing to be a knife in His Highness's hand, cut through the thorns for His Highness, and even willing to take his own life, but His Highness does not believe me, and even at the critical moment, I just want to kick me away, I have a warm blood, and His Highness treats me like this, I will also feel cold." ”

Zhao Che glared at Shen Bai, his breath was cold, Shen Bai couldn't see it, and continued to complain: "Besides, it wasn't that I deliberately dragged Brother Gu into the river that night, but Brother Gu saw that I was in trouble and jumped down by himself, how could Your Highness think that I intended to harm Brother Gu?" ”

It is precisely because Gu Hengzhou jumped down by himself that it makes people feel even more uneasy, how many people in this world can make a cold-hearted person like Gu Hengzhou voluntarily jump off the cliff?

Zhao Che stood up and stared at Shen Bai coldly.

She has lost a lot of weight, her chin has become sharper, her face has no flesh, and her eyes appear bigger and more divine, dark and bright, and she is very smart, especially when she looks at people so seriously, like snow on the top of a mountain, she can bewitch people's hearts.

After looking at it for a while, Zhao Che leaned over, gently clasped Shen Bai's chin, and said word by word: "As a man, bewitching the prince of Zhenguo, and ignoring people's morality, do you dare to say that you are not harming him?" ”

Zhao Che has always been pampered, although his martial arts cultivation in Tai Academy is not bad, there is only a thin layer of calluses on his hands, and his fingertips are warm and soft, not as rough as Gu Hengzhou's fingertips, but it makes Shen Bai feel a cold ruthlessness.

Shen Bai knew what Zhao Che was taboo, hesitated for a moment and said seriously: "Your Highness, although Brother Gu looks cold and indifferent on weekdays, he is not a really ruthless person, even if there is no me that night, it is the little monk named Silent Dust in the temple who fell off the cliff, Brother Gu will not hesitate to jump down to save people, this is the inheritance of the Gu family for generations, not because I am different in Brother Gu's heart." ”

The Gu family's family motto has the protection of the weak.

As long as there is still a breath and the strength to swing the sword, Gu Hengzhou will never allow an innocent person to die in front of him.

Shen Bai said very reasonably, Zhao Che's eyes flashed slightly, but he didn't let go of Shen Bai, and he was still hesitant, Shen Bai continued: "In the paddock before, hasn't His Highness already verified this?" ”

When he was in the paddock, he wanted to kill her, but Gu Hengzhou did not disobey his order to stop her.

Zhao Che's hand was relieved, this is the belief of seven or eight, Shen Bai secretly breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting Zhao Che to be suspicious of Gu Hengzhou because of himself, and said sincerely: "Your Highness, Brother Gu's tutor and responsibility are destined that he will not be half distracted from me, and if I don't like him, I will only be reduced to a gentleman who only knows how to eat, drink and have fun, although I am happy with Brother Gu, I always stay sober and know what to do and what not to do, Your Highness doesn't have to worry about what I like him will cause a big disaster." ”

Her likes are frank and warm, like a raging flame, but she is extremely forbearant and restrained, like a stream winding down the mountains, the mountains and rivers are indifferent, and she is gentle and lingering.

Zhao Che lowered his eyes and looked at her with some curiosity: "Last time in the paddock, he didn't save you, don't you blame him?" ”

Shen Bai bent his eyes and smiled brightly: "I don't even complain about His Highness, why should I complain about him?" ”

Zhao Che was dumbfounded, yes, he was the one who ordered her to be killed, she didn't even complain about herself, how could she still complain about Gu Hengzhou?

The atmosphere suddenly stiffened, Shen Bai didn't dwell on this topic, and asked: "Your Highness, are those assassins before really not from Dongheng Kingdom?" Do they have an eyebrow for who they are? ”

Zhao Che's eyes were covered with frost, his hands were behind his back, and his fingertips were gently crushed twice, and there was still a soft touch that had just pinched Shen Bai's chin.

He stiffened his face and asked coldly, "You really don't know who those people are?" ”

Shen Bai looked innocent: "I'm not in the same group as those people, how can I know who sent them?" ”

Really good at pretending!

Zhao Che glanced at Shen Bai, knowing that she was the best at playing tricks and didn't want to tell the truth, so he said coldly: "This palace will send someone to find out about these things, and you don't need to worry about it." ”

"Oh."

Shen Bai nodded, and said in his heart, Your Majesty, it turns out that you know how to unload the mill and kill the donkey at such a young age.

His knees hurt a little, and when the matter was finished, Shen Bai couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, can I get up now?" ”

Zhao Che didn't speak with a cold face, Shen Bai only acquiesced to him, stood up directly, patted the dust on the hem of his clothes, and just wanted to salute and leave, he heard Zhao Che ask: "Do you know the lord and high priest of Dongheng Kingdom?" ”

Shen Bai tilted his head and looked inexplicable: "Like His Highness, I am stepping into the realm of Dongheng for the first time, how can I know them?" ”

Zhao Che's eyes flashed with deep thought, and he stared at Shen Bai directly: "What's going on with that shattered sad and happy side?" ”

Suspicious in his heart, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's horn, and he wanted to clear the fog and see everything.

Shen Bai said seriously: "I don't know what's going on, if this matter is not the will of heaven, it is most likely the hands and feet of the high priest, Your Highness must pay attention to safety these days." ”

Zhao Che's eyebrows frowned, his expression was solemn, he had already indicated the identity of the crown prince, if the people of Dongheng Kingdom were to be unfavorable to him, it would be tantamount to directly declaring war on Zhaoling, the lord of Dongheng was almost sixty, and Dongheng had also reached the time of the change of royal power, and it was really not a wise move to declare war with Zhaoling now.

But it's always good to keep an eye on it at times like this, what if some idiots have to do something stupid?

After pondering for a while, Zhao Che raised his hand to ask Shen Bai to retreat, Shen Bai bowed and exited the room, and someone immediately took her to the next room to rest.

Closing the door, Shen Bai walked to the table and sat down, poured himself a glass of water to drink, and his heart rhythm was still a little irregular.

Just after looking at the high priest, my body suddenly felt unwell, although it was much better at this time, cold sweat was still breaking out in my palms, and the whole person was enveloped by a strong uneasiness.

Shen Bai couldn't tell why, but she felt that the high priest was quite evil, which made her a little scared.

She pretended to be a man for many years, and the high priest only saw her for the first time, and it was impossible to recognize her as a daughter at a glance, she and Dong Hengguo had no other intersections, and the high priest had no reason to target her alone.

Is it because she has been reborn for a lifetime, a soul that should not exist in this time and space?

But last time she was in the temple, she saw so many Buddha statues, as well as the relics of the monks, and she didn't feel any discomfort, it was impossible for this high priest to see through it all at once, right?

Shen Bai couldn't figure it out, his head began to get dizzy again, so he simply drove out those messy thoughts and threw himself on the bed to rest.

After running around for so many days, I have to sleep more to make up for my energy.

As soon as his head touched the pillow, Shen Bai immediately fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time, the Lord of Dongheng walked into the easternmost rockery of the palace.

There is a narrow road that only allows one person to pass in the rockery, walked a distance of about ten steps, the lord skillfully touched a bulge on the stone wall, twisted three times to the right, and then twisted three times to the left, the stone slab on the ground was removed with a bang, an underground passage appeared in front of him, the lord walked in, the stone slab quickly closed, and returned to normal.

All the way through the passage was inlaid with fist-sized pearls of the night, the beads emitted a soft glow of luster and coldness, and the further down you went, the heavier the humidity and the colder it became, and after about a quarter of an hour, a huge underground palace appeared in front of you.

Above the palace is a huge glazed stone, the glazed stone is transparent, and the ripples of water can be faintly seen.

This palace was built under the pond of the Imperial Garden of the Dongheng Palace, which has a history of hundreds of years, and has been the residence of successive high priests.

The palace attendants outside the palace carried lanterns and saluted respectfully: "Meet the lord." ”

The lord asked gently, "What about Hanchen?" ”

The palace man said, "The high priest has been in the priest's room since he returned. ”

The Lord walked straight to the left, and after passing a narrow tunnel, a rope bridge appeared in front of him, and under the rope bridge was a hot lava, and on the opposite side was a stone pillar that stood like an island in the magma.

The stone pillar is round, the diameter is three or four zhang wide, the division room is built on this stone pillar, what is surprising is that the division room is completely Zhaoling architectural style, the roof has the Rui beast suppression, the four corners of the eaves are warped, the eaves are hung with wind chimes, because there is no wind underground, can not make a sound.

The lord walked across the rope bridge and arrived at the door of the division's room, but he didn't push the door in, but stood at the door and called softly: "Hanchen." ”

As the words fell, the door opened.

There were no night pearls around or inside the chamber, only the lava flowing underground glowed with fiery red.

The light in the room was very dim, and the high priest Hanchen had already taken off the black cloak, he was wearing an ink-colored dress, and the clothes were not quite the same as the clothes on the lord's body, which was a typical Zhaoling style, with a crossed collar, wide embroidery, and white jade embedded in the palm-wide belt, and a narrow waist lined with broad shoulders.

The clothes are embroidered with an unknown fine thread with a flamingo totem covering the whole body, the head and body on the back, and the wings and tail feathers on the sleeves and hem.

The sunlight outside is very strong and it is difficult to see, and the light in the division room is dim, and this totem glows with a bright red light, as if it has come to life all of a sudden, and the next moment it will take off and fly into the air.

Hanchen sat quietly, his almost transparent white cheeks were dyed crimson by the red light, his facial features were deep and tall, his thick eyebrows were like sharp edges, and the vast stars were flowing under his eyes, his appearance was stunning, and it was even a little difficult to distinguish between male and female.

The lord walked into the room and saw the sad and happy face on the jade table in front of him that had fallen to the ground today.

The sad and joyful face was put together piece by piece, but it did not recover as before, and the cracks on it were dense, making the already weird mask two more hideous and terrifying.

The lord looked at Hanchen in surprise and asked, "Can't you fix it?" ”

Hanchen shook his head.

The lord has only lived in the world for less than sixty years, and he has only seen the fact that the sad and happy face cannot be damaged in the national history records, and has not personally verified it, after all, according to the law of Dongheng, this mask of sorrow and joy can only be touched by the high priest, and even he cannot touch it.

At this time, when I saw that the sad and happy face was bad like this, I couldn't help but ask: "What will be the consequences if the sad and happy face is broken?" ”

The monarch has reigned for so many years, and there have only been two anomalies on the sad and joyful side.

One happened fourteen years ago, with tears and tears on the face of joy and sorrow, that year, there was a great drought in Donghengguo, and nearly 10,000 people died of starvation.

Another time happened four years ago, when a shrill laugh erupted from the sad and joyful faces, and that year, the sacrifice of twenty pregnant women was revealed.

In the history of Dongheng Kingdom, the sad and happy faces were warned in this way, and at other times, the high priest relied on divination and hexagram to assist in state affairs.

Every warning of sorrow and joy is that a major event is going to happen, implicating many lives, and this time it is directly shattered into slag, is it not going to destroy the country?

The uneasiness in the bottom of the lord's heart continued to rise, and his face became more and more ugly, Han Chen said softly: "The sad and happy face is broken because of that person named Shen Bai, I can't see his fate." ”

Life in the world, each has its own destiny, some people are born with good life, some people are born unlucky, everything is destined with cause and effect, if someone wants to forcibly reverse the fate, they will also be eaten in the future and taste the consequences.

Successive high priests have never looked at personal fortunes, only at national fortunes, and only intervened to change when necessary, and the price paid for this is that successive high priests will be young and white-headed, and will not live to be thirty years old.

Therefore, the high priest was on an equal footing with the sovereign in the Eastern Heng Kingdom, and sometimes even higher than the sovereign.

Strange things appeared one after another, and the lord frowned, and asked in surprise: "How can you not see it?" Isn't he human? ”

Han Chen's eyes were dark and he looked at the cracked sad and happy face in front of him, and said for a long time: "They won't stay in Dongheng for a long time, I want to go to participate in this Zhaoling Emperor's birthday." ”

He needed time to figure out where this young man named Shen Bai came from.

Hanchen is twenty this year, and he has never left Hengyang City for a single step, and this time he suddenly wants to go to Zhaoling, which is thousands of miles away, and the uneasiness in the heart of the lord is suddenly infinitely magnified: "At this time, you are going to Zhaoling?" Didn't you say before that Zhaoling would be in chaos and don't continue to associate with them? ”

This sounded like questioning the inference made by Hanchen, the high priest, and the lord knew that he was a little too impatient just now, so he hurriedly softened his tone: "I'm getting more and more powerless, Dusk and their brothers are still secretly competing, it will take you at least two or three months to go back and forth to Zhaoling, I'm afraid something will happen." ”

Dusk Da is the eldest son of the sovereign, Dongheng is not like Zhaoling has an obvious order of eldest and youngest, the change of the throne has always been the ability to live in, this sovereign has four sons under his knees, the qualifications of the four are very mediocre, none of them are particularly top-notch, the four have been secretly more energetic, until today there is no distinction between high and low to determine who the future prince is.

The lord was worried, Hanchen put away the sad and joyful face, looked at the lord and said, "Dongheng will not have anything happen in three years, I have my own measure." ”

The successive high priests had the ability to deduce the future, and after Hanchen's words, the lord's expression softened a little, and then he became worried: "Do you plan to go with Prince Zhaoling and them?" ”

Hanchen nodded without hesitation: "That person named Shen Bai is very strange, this time I can get to know him better." ”

"And how many men do you want?"

"I'll do it myself."

……

Shen Bai fell into a bizarre dream again, for a while he saw Gu Hengzhou standing on the battlefield full of corpses, and for a while he saw Zhaoling dead, Zhao Che and Miao Ruoxi stood in the raging fire, and they wanted to die together, she could only watch, and she couldn't save anyone.

When the dream came to the back, the fire turned into hot magma, and the tall palace turned into a huge stone pillar standing on the magma, and there was a simple house on the pillar, and there was a woman's painful cry from the house, Shen Bai just wanted to go in and take a look, the baby's loud cry penetrated her eardrums, and she was shocked to wake up all of a sudden.

When he opened his eyes, the dream dissipated instantly, and his chest hurt so badly that Shen Bai couldn't help but cough lightly twice while holding his chest, and a cold voice came from his ears: "What did you dream about just now?" You're crying a lot. ”