The sunny day in late April in the south of the Yangtze River is already very hot, but on the shore of the West Lake, next to the willow embankment, the shade of the trees, a folding fan, can send a burst of coolness.

Yang Congyi is not a scholar, the willow bank shakes the paper fan, listens to the music and boats in the lake, at this moment, this situation, he can't do it, he should climb the mountain and walk slowly, smell the fragrance of pines and cypresses, listen to the birds and cicadas, feel the beauty of nature, and be calm.

There is no high mountain near Lin'an, but there are two low mountains, one is in the south of the imperial city, it is the royal garden, it is a forbidden place for ordinary people, can not visit, can not be approached, the other is on the north shore of the West Lake, the forest is lush, there is a trail that runs through the east and west, there are Taoist temples and temples in the mountains, the incense is vigorous, it is a good place for pilgrims and Lin'an people to go when they are at leisure.

After returning to Qinzhou from Liangshan, Yang Congyi has not climbed the mountain for a long time, crossing the lakeside road, going up the forest path, climbing a few steps, the fragrance of the mountain comes to his face, stopping to breathe a few deep breaths of cool air, and suddenly feels that the whole body is very comfortable from the inside out.

Follow the pilgrims up the hill slowly, stop around to see, the cicadas chirp all the way, the pilgrims are silent, and the forest is quieter.

Soon, several pilgrims walked up a fork in the road, and looked up the hill along the fork in the road, where the eaves attic towered very high, which was very conspicuous, and there was green smoke rising from it, which seemed to be a temple with flourishing incense.

Yang Congyi didn't plan to enter the temple, so he turned around and walked onto a remote fork in the road, no one in front and behind, listening to the cicadas, his heart was more peaceful.

The further you go up the mountain, the cooler and quieter it becomes.

The grass grows half a foot high on both sides of the steps, and the two feet wide in the middle are often walked, and the weeds are difficult to grow, so the two-foot-wide mountain road winds and circles all the way to the depths of the mountain forest.

Outside Lin'an City, this is the only place where people can relax and visit, naturally there will be no lack of pavilions for people to rest, along the steps of the mountain road, there is one thirty or fifty zhang away, and many have been seen along the way.

Yang Congyi has a very good physique, walking on the steps only feels comfortable physically and mentally, and does not need to rest, there is almost no rest after going up the mountain, and he has been walking slowly and leisurely up along the road under his feet, as for where is the end, he is not worried, the road has an end after all, and there is a road up the mountain, and there is naturally a road down the mountain.

After walking for a long time, maybe half an hour, maybe half an hour, after going up and down the mountain and going down through several forks, the mountain road seems to have not reached the end, and there are no other tourists on the road.

After a few more bends, a pavilion sticks out of the shade of trees, the top of the glazed pavilion floats above the branches and leaves, and the sound of talking is faintly heard in the silent and uninhabited mountain forest.

Yang Congyi walked along, and the pavilion with people more than ten zhang away added a lot of popularity to this mountain forest, otherwise he would have thought that the huge Lin'an City would be alone on the mountain today.

Along the way up the mountain, he didn't stop at almost all the pavilions, and this pavilion was no exception, not to mention that there were other people in the pavilion, and he wanted to walk alone when he came out today, and he didn't plan to talk to strangers.

However, when Yang Congyi approached the pavilion, there was suddenly no sound of talking in the hall, and chatting outside was also private, Yang Congyi naturally understood, but he couldn't retreat down the mountain because there was someone in the pavilion in front of him who wanted to chat, so he quickened his pace and walked towards the mountain.

Walking to the pavilion without squinting, he saw two men in the pavilion, he didn't want to see who they were, so he walked quickly past the pavilion and continued to walk forward.

Who knew that he had just taken three steps past the pavilion when he heard someone in the pavilion shouting, "Lord Yang." ”

Yang Congyi was shocked, could he call him? He didn't know a few people in Lin'an, and besides, he had only been in Lin'an for a few days, so he wouldn't be so coincidentally a colleague of the front division of the palace, right? But how could there be such a coincidence, if it was really a colleague, if he wanted to recognize him, he would have recognized him a long time ago, why not speak out after the pavilion.

He hesitated for a moment, slowed his pace slightly, but did not stop.

"Lord Yang, when you become an official in Lin'an, you can't recognize it?" There was a laugh behind him, and there seemed to be a bit of sarcasm in his words.

As soon as these words came out, Yang Congyi immediately stopped, and when the pavilion was an old man, he immediately turned around and looked into the pavilion.

I saw a person dressed in cloth and sitting there, smiling.

"Why, you really don't recognize me? Lord Yang is really a noble person, how forgetful. "The man is in his thirties, and he doesn't look much older than Yang Congyi.

The man's face was indeed a little familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere, but he had seen too many people, and after searching in his mind, he found nothing, so he had to raise his hand and apologize: "Please forgive me for being clumsy, I don't know where we have seen it?" ”

"Xianglu Peak, Cheng Wen, does Lord Yang remember?" As he spoke, the man stood up.

The three words of incense burner peak entered his ears, Yang Congyi's thoughts instantly flew back to Tianzhu Mountain a few years ago, and immediately remembered that when he escorted more than thirty fugitives down from the incense burner peak, there were two brothers accompanying the escort, one was called Cheng Wu, and the other was Cheng Wen, and he was very impressed.

Recognizing the person, Yang Congyi immediately stepped forward, hugged his fists and said with a smile: "It turned out to be Brother Cheng, forgive your sins, forgive your sins, and bear with me." ”

Cheng Wen greeted him and said with a smile: "Don't dare, Lord Yang has been in Lin'an for a long time, and I can't remember that it is normal for me to wait for the small people in the mountains and fields." ”

Brother Cheng said this, and he saw the outside, he didn't take care of Yang's diet and daily life in the mountains that day, and he really shouldn't recognize Brother Cheng today. Since we met in Lin'an, if you don't invite Brother Cheng to have a drink, it can't be said. Let's go down the hill and have a drink. The lonely Yang Congyi, by chance, met an old man who was not very familiar with Tianzhu Mountain, and suddenly felt very cordial, and couldn't help but be enthusiastic.

"Lord Yang, this is not appropriate. You are now an official in Lin'an, and you are not afraid of lowering your status and causing criticism when you eat and drink with me, a mountain and grass people? Cheng Wen asked with a smile.

"Yang, an official with a sesame mung bean, no one will recognize him if he walks on the crowded street for a day, and no one has the leisure to criticize me. In this Lin'an, the people who can be talked about by the people are all members of the court, royal relatives and nobles, and there is no one who is an official, and no one really knows him. To be honest, in Lin'an, it's better to be comfortable in the mountains. After laughing at himself, Yang Congyi suddenly changed his head and asked, "Hey, Brother Cheng, you didn't stay in the incense burner peak, why did you come to Lin'an?" ”

Cheng Wen glanced at the man beside him, and then replied: "Something happened in the mountains, let me come to Lin'an to find out about the situation." ”

"What's going on?" Yang Congyi was taken aback and hurriedly asked.

"Actually, it's not a big deal." Cheng Wen didn't seem to want to say more, so he prevaricated at will.

Yang Congyi sighed, and stopped asking. Then he said: "Then how is the situation you want to investigate?" Can you have eyebrows? ”

"I've only been here for two days, and I've just established myself in Lin'an, and I don't have a clue at all." Cheng Wen still didn't want to reveal more.

"Since you've just come to Lin'an, let's play for a few days first. It's just fine, let's go down the mountain and have a drink. Yang Congyi said with a smile.

"Forget it today, I still have something to talk about here, another day." Cheng Wen didn't think about it, and refused directly.

Yang Congyi laughed and said, "That's okay, Brother Cheng will be busy first, and we'll see you another day." If you have time, you can go to the Home Inn near Qiantang Gate to find me, and settle down there for now. ”

"Okay, I'll go another day, and then I'll invite my brother to have a good drink." Cheng Wen hugged his fists and smiled.

"That's for sure. Goodbye! Yang Congyi returned the salute with his fists, then turned around and continued to walk towards the mountain.

Soon, after Yang Congyi walked far into the dense forest, another man in the pavilion asked, "Brother Wen, do you still know someone who is an official in Lin'an?" ”

Cheng Wen said with a smile: "I don't know each other, I saw it in the mountains a few years ago, and I have been with it for a while, when he was still a small yamen catcher, and then I somehow came to Lin'an, I heard that I was an official a few years ago, and now the official position should not be low." ”

The man said, "Then we can ask him for help in Lin'an?" It's also a lot easier to do. ”

Cheng Wendao: "I came to Lin'an first to have this meaning, after all, I haven't seen him for many years, and I don't have much friendship, if I really want to ask him for help, I have to see if it's reliable." We don't just stay for a day or two in Lin'an, wait for Lin'an to settle down, find out all the situations that should be touched, and then observe and observe secretly. Besides, he is now an official of the imperial court, and his status is very different from when he was a head catcher before, one is in the sky and the other is underground. The status is different, whether they can come together, whether they can sit at the same table and eat a bowl of wine, it's hard to say. ”

The man replied, "What Brother Wen said is reasonable, we should indeed be cautious. ”

Cheng Wendao: "Can you use the power of Lord Yang to talk about it later." You continue to keep an eye on them, don't act rashly, and if there is any news, send it to the mountains. ”

The man said, "Yes, Brother Wen." Then I'll go first. ”

The two quickly separated, one up the mountain, the other down, and hurriedly disappeared into the trails and dense forests.

After Yang Congyi and Cheng Wen separated, they strolled towards the mountain, but their originally calm thoughts had been disrupted.

He had been away from Tianzhu Mountain for many years, and all the people and things he had experienced there had surged from the depths of his mind with the appearance of Cheng Wen. I entered Tianzhu Mountain twice before and after, and too many things happened during the period, especially the last one.

At the beginning, he knew that Tianzhu Mountain and Anqing have been surging undercurrents, affecting the government and the opposition, and Lord Chen was also at this special point in time before he was suddenly promoted from the position of the magistrate to the magistrate and entrusted with a heavy responsibility, and he also captured most of the fugitives because of his salary at the bottom of the kettle of Tianzhu Mountain, so that the disputes between all parties temporarily calmed down and helped Lord Chen get out of the predicament, and then he was recommended to study in Beijing and escape from the whirlpool of constant struggle between various forces in Anqing.

Now this Cheng Wen, who doesn't have much impression, suddenly appeared in Lin'an, and can easily recognize himself after many years, obviously things will not be simple, the Loyal League is finally going to walk out of Tianzhu Mountain, ready to make a big fuss in Lin'an?

Why the Loyalty and Righteousness Alliance was formed, although I heard Song Leader say it before, I still have some impressions, but their purpose is by no means simple.

Besides, the uncle asked him to come to Lin'an from Huangmei County to find out, but it was the powerful man, it was obvious that they were targeting the same target.