Shi Xiu's chest rose and fell violently, his heart was already like ashes, and he said miserably: "I, Shi Xiu, am alone, a husband, what reputation do I have?" What if all men spurn it? Yurong's sad face suddenly flashed in his heart, and he couldn't help but be very sad, and secretly thought: "She will look down on me, if I die, will she shed a tear for me?" ”

Dou Xian seemed to see through his heart, and sneered repeatedly: "Okay, I will tell Yurong about this!" Hehe, Yurong at that time, what did he think of you? ”

Shi Xiu's whole body trembled, and he pulled his hair, in pain. Suddenly, he picked up the bamboo silk on the ground, waved his pen, signed it quickly, bit his finger, pressed his handprint, and then threw the bamboo silk to the ground, hiding his face and drifting away.

Dou Xian laughed, glanced at Concubine Dou, and walked away with Dou Duyang.

The piano and drums are sounded, and the silk music is melodious. Li Yi and Shi Xiu came out of the stopper, Emperor Zhang led a hundred civil and military officials, and sent them to the shore of Luoshui, Li Yi's face was arrogant, his head was held high, so unhappy, but Shi Xiu was like a frosted eggplant, cowering and looking sad. Emperor Zhang grabbed Li Yi and said, "Send you a thousand miles, there will be a farewell!" War or not, it is a matter of the common people in the world, Qing to Shule, to be good to investigate, don't live up! Then he turned his head to Shi Xiu and said: "Qing used to be loyal and persevering, and he will definitely be able to handle this important task!" ”

Li Yi said proudly: "The emperor can rest assured, the minister will go to the Western Regions, and he will definitely talk to the general squad, and then tell the emperor about the pros and cons!" ”

Shi Xiu looked into the crowd, and saw that Dou Xian was following Dou Gu, as if nothing had happened, his expression was indifferent, Empress Dou was on Emperor Zhang's side, but Concubine Dou was gone, and Yurong had not yet arrived, Shi Xiu sighed in his heart and was silent. That evil fate of fish and water was like a nightmare, gnawing at Shi Xiu, making him miserable.

With a wave of Emperor Zhang's hand, Zhongchang brought three cups full of wine, one was handed to Emperor Zhang, and the other two cups were handed to Li Yi and Shi Xiu. Emperor Zhang said slowly: "God bless the Han, this trip is smooth!" "I drank it all down. Li Yi and Shi Xiu drank the wine, put down the glass, walked out of the city gate, and slowly disappeared into the sky.

Geng Gong returned to the Tiger Camp, sullen. When Fan Qiang and Yang Yan saw it, they were very strange and asked, "Why is the eldest brother so preoccupied?" ”

Geng Gong sighed: "Brother Xiu went to Saiwai today, I saw that his face was miserable, for some reason, I didn't have time to ask, this trip to Shule, I need to travel through the countries of the Western Regions, all kinds of dangers, I am worried about his safety." ”

Yang Yan persuaded: "Shi Xiu has always been calm and resourceful, forgive me and don't have to worry about it." ”

"I don't know what happened to Li Kang and Yang Wu? The two of them are very rude, I'm really afraid that they will cause trouble! Alas, the people who used to stick to Shule with me gradually drifted away, and now there are only the two of you around! At that time in the Western Regions, the auspicious and unpredictable, life and death are unpredictable, but the brothers unite as one, jointly resist the enemy, eat Hun meat, drink Hun blood, it is really very happy, when will it be as before, gallop on the battlefield? Geng Gong's face was solemn, immersed in those hard years. Fan Qiang and Yang Yan were also very emotional, lowered their heads, and were silent.

After a while, Yang Yan said, "Brother, don't be sad. This deep palace is like a cage, more unpredictable than the battlefield. The brothers have always been upright, but they only know how to charge into battle, how can they know the intrigue in the palace? ”

After thinking for a moment, Yang Yan said again: "Shi Xiu's temperament has changed greatly recently, he is depressed, and he should not be suspicious as a brother. Forward, his brother was in prison, he was injured, and said that he had a dramatic fight with Dou Gujun. Later, I secretly checked, so why did Brother Shi Xiu lie if he was safe and sound in the Dou Gu army? What is his secret? ”

Geng Gong was shocked, and after a while, he said: "Among the brothers, Zhang Feng and Shi Xiu have the best relationship, Zhang Feng was killed, and Shi Xiu was sad, so he was depressed." ”

Yang Yan shook his head and said nothing. Fan Qiang suddenly took out a small wooden figure from his arms and said: "Brother, last night, when I was inspecting, I found a small wooden figure near Guhua Palace, I saw that it looked hideous and terrible, and I felt uneasy, so I hid it in my arms, and thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't figure it out, what did this little wooden man do?" ”

Geng Gong took the little wooden man, and saw that the little wooden man was like a real person, with hands and feet, and a pair of white eyes that rolled up to the sky, and he was shocked to look at it. Geng Gong's face suddenly turned pale, his eyes were full of fear, and his hands actually trembled. Fan Qiang was very puzzled, and secretly thought: "This little wooden man, although he looks fierce, his brother will not be scared like this." Looking at Yang Yan again, he also looked serious and held his breath.

Yang Yan said slowly: "Brother, I'm afraid there will be chaos in the palace!" ”

Geng Gong pinched the little wooden figure and said in a trembling voice: "The puppet has reappeared, the country has a great disaster, the country has a great martyrdom, I am a big man, the border is restless, and the people are not at peace, why should I suffer this catastrophe?" ”

Fan Qiang saw that they were like a great enemy, and he was full of suspicions: "Brother, the Huns have thousands of troops and horses, we are not afraid, this little wooden man can neither speak nor fight, how can he be afraid of becoming like this?" ”

Geng Gong sighed and said, "Brother Qiang, you don't know anything!" This wooden man is the legendary witch Gu! Historically, emperors have been the most taboo of witch Gu! During the time of Emperor Wu, the folk witch style suddenly introduced into the court, and many palace maids and concubines, either in order to compete for favor, or to avoid trouble, or to harm people, wrote the eight characters of birth on the small wooden figure, tied the silver needle, and buried it in the soil. In the second year of Zhenghe, Prime Minister Sun He's father and son were accused of witchcraft and cursing the emperor. At that time, Emperor Wu happened to have a nightmare, dreaming that many small wooden figures came out of the soil, rushed forward to bite him, Emperor Wu woke up, had a headache, and took a break for a few days. Someone just reported that he brought a little wooden man, which was exactly the same as in the dream, and Emperor Wu was furious and killed Gongsun He's father and son, as well as Princess Yangshi and the son of the general Wei Qing, Changping Hou Wei and his wife. All states and counties strictly investigated witch Gu, and once they were found, they were immediately executed, and tens of thousands of people were killed! ”

When Fan Qiang heard this, he was indignant and said angrily: "Why is Emperor Wu so confused, just a little puppet, how can he kill people indiscriminately?" ”

Yang Yan said: "As the saying goes, a companion is like a tiger, and this is the principle. A wise one, confused for a while, no matter how wise the emperor, there are times when he is blinded. ”

Geng Gong hurriedly stopped and said, "Brother Yan, don't talk nonsense!" After a while, he said in a low voice: "After Emperor Wu killed the prime minister, the princess and others, he refused to give up, and sent the favored minister embroidered messenger Jiang Chong to search the palace, this Jiang Chong and the prince Liu have a grudge, he and Xiaohuangmen Su Wen colluded with each other, and actually dug out a large number of small wooden people in the East Palace, the prince was desperate, so he had to raise troops to kill Jiang Chong and Han Shuo, Emperor Wu did not know the truth, and sent troops to kill the prince and grandson, and Empress Wei had to commit suicide! Speaking of this, Geng Gong was sweating profusely and said in a trembling voice: "Could it be that someone uses witchcraft to harm people?" ”